Mating with a Teacher
by PerfectStoryLove
Summary: Hermione has a crush on her Defense teacher. But it is dangerous with him being a werewolf. Remus loves Hermione too and when he claims her as his mate, he becomes very protective of her. And will Ron be in danger when he is caught with Hermione by Remus?
1. Chapter 1

Hermione was definitely crushing on her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Of course, it was not right to fall in love with your professor, but she couldn't help it. The girls in her year could understand why she had a crush. The man was handsome, intelligent and there was something mysterious about him. The scars on his face were a mark for his bravery and they showed that he had gone through a lot. His hair contained stripes op silver, although he was just in his early thirties. The girls were talking a lot about their hot teacher in the dormitory and he was also the reason for the daydreams the girls were having during class. Just like now. Hermione was sitting in Potions class next to Harry. She was just drifting away by the thought of Remus Lupin when she felt an elbow in her side. She looked up and her eyes met Harry's.

'Harry, what the hell you think you're doing?' Hermione asked angrily.

But Harry didn't answer, he nodded towards Snape who was walking to their desk.

'Miss Granger, what is more important at the moment than my lecture about aconite?' Snape asked with an unpleasant look on his face.

'Nothing, sir. I am sorry,' Hermione said blushing.

'It must be very important,' Snape continued. 'Normally you always pay attention in class. So, tell me.'

Hermione sank deeper away in her chair. Why did Snape always have to be so annoying?

'It was nothing, professor,' Hermione said again.

'Come on, you don't want me to give you detention for not answering my questions, do you?' Snape said.

'No, sir, I… I was thinking about that essay I had to make for professor Flitwick,' Hermione said, looking Snape straight in the eyes.

'Well… I expect you to pay attention the rest of this hour. And ten points from Gryffindor because of the time you wasted with this pointless discussion,' Snape said and he walked away.

Hermione looked down at her desk, not wanting to see the angry faces of her classmates. Another elbow in her side.

'Hermione, seriously? What was all this about? We don't even have an essay for Charms class,' Harry whispered, watching Snape carefully to make sure he didn't hear them.

Hermione blushed again.

'I don't have to tell you either,' she said stubbornly.

'Come on, you can tell me. I am your best friend! Is there something wrong?'

'No.'

'Are you sick?'

'No.'

'Are you in a fight with someone?'

'No. Harry, just drop it.'

'Are you getting bad grades?'

'No!' Hermione said, now whispering a little bit louder. Snape didn't hear them, thank God.

'Then what is it?' Harry demanded.

'I don't have to tell you! Just pay attention now and let me do the same thing!' Hermione said, now blushing even more.

Harry was silent for a couple of minutes. Then his elbow came again.

'Hermione? Are you in love?'

This time Hermione went completely red.

'Oh my God!' Harry said. 'Who is it?'

'I am not going to tell you!' Hermione whispered angrily.

'Is it Ron? Neville? Is it a Gryffindor? In our year?' Harry asked.

'Harry! Shut up!'

'Do I know him? Or is he a she?'

'Harry, don't be ridiculous. It is a he and yes, you know him. And he is not in our year. More you don't need to now.'

'Fine!' Harry said sharply and he returned to his work.

After a silent ten minutes, Snape told the class to do some homework and then the class went out of the dungeons. Ron joined Harry and Hermione and the three walked to their next class. Defense Against the Dark Arts. Great. Another lesson where it was impossible to pay attention. And Hermione hated getting bad marks.

* * *

'So please hand in your homework tomorrow. I want them on my desk first thing next lesson. You may go now,' Lupin said and the students picked up their bags. Girls were always a little bit slower in packing their stuff than the boys, that was very clear.

'Professor, what are we going to do tomorrow?' Lavender asked with a sweet smile.

'That is for me to know and for you to find out,' Lupin said, walking back to his desk.

'Is it something exciting?' Parvati pushed.

'It is, actually. But I am not going to tell you what it is.'

'But, professor…'

'Don't you have to hurry? Your next lesson is starting in about five minutes,' Lupin cut off another attempt to get an answer from the professor.

'Yes, of course, see you professor!' Lavender said and she waved to the professor in the most sexy way she could.

'Bye, professor!' Parvati said giggling and she followed Lavender.

'Hermione? Don't you have to go with them?' Lupin asked when he saw Hermione still looking for something in her bag.

'I'm sorry, sir. I am still looking for a book. But I guess I left it in the dormitory,' Hermione said. Of course that was a lie. She didn't forget her book. She would never forget a book. She just wanted to be with Lupin as long as she could.

'Oh, alright. Well, I see you tomorrow,' Lupin said and he stood up from his chair. He gave Hermione a little smile when he turned to walk to his office. Hermione had the feeling that she could have died right on the spot. His smile was so cute. Hermione picked up her back and rushed out of the classroom to be on time for Transfiguration.

That night, the girls were talking about their Defense teacher once more. It had become a sort of routine before they went to bed.

'He was so kind! Did you all see that smile when he told us what we were going to do tomorrow? I am so excited for the next lesson!' Lavender said.

'He is so dreamy!' Sophie said enthusiastically.

'Do you think we are going to do something dangerous?' Lavender asked curiously.

'I hope so! I could always pretend to faint and then he would have to carry me to the hospital with his strong arms!' Parvati said.

'Don't you think about it! He would be too busy with protecting me from dangerous creatures,' Lavender said, giving the other girls a teasing smile.

'You can't claim Remmy for yourself!' Sophie said indignantly.

'Hermione, why didn't you come right after us, by the way? Did Remmy say something important to you?' Lavender asked.

'I am not going to share my beautiful private moments with our professor with you,' Hermione giggled, giving a mysterious smile.

'Come on! Tell us!' Sophie insisted.

'It was nothing, unfortunately. He gave me a very cute smile, though,' Hermione said blushing.

'What did he say?' Parvati asked, wanting to know everything.

'Not much, I said that I was looking for a book, and then he said that he would see me tomorrow,' Hermione said.

'I have an idea!' Lavender said suddenly. 'Let's have a competition! We are going to see which one of us four is going to get a kiss from Remus first!'

'Yes! Let's do that! I am so going to win this!' Parvati said enthusiastically.

'I don't know if that is a good idea. He is a very decent and polite man, he would never lay his hands on a student,' Hermione said.

'Oh, come on, Hermione, it will be fun!' Sophie said.

'Okay, then. But you have to know that I am going to win, whatever it takes.'

'No, you're not!' Lavender said, throwing a pillow towards Hermione.

'You are going to pay for that, Brown,' Hermione laughed and she lunged for Lavender. Hermione had Lavender on the ground and started to tickle her.

'Stop it, Granger! Or I will call my boyfriend to punish you!' Lavender shouted, trying to get Hermione off her. But she was laughing too hard to succeed.

'You don't have a boyfriend!' Hermione said.

'Yes, a certain professor. And he will do anything to protect me,' Lavender said playfully.

'I don't mind your boyfriend punishing me then,' Hermione said, continuing tickling Lavender.

Finally Sophie came to help Lavender and she pulled Hermione off her. The girls went to bed, each of them thinking about a strategy to get professor Lupin to kiss them. Hermione was determined to win this competition. First of all, she had to do something about her clothes. Yes, she had a great plan.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Hermione was the first one in the common room. She waited for Harry and Ron, they were going to breakfast together. As always, Harry was the first one to come downstairs, Ron always had trouble with getting up.

'Hermione, what are you wearing?' was the first reaction from Harry.

Hermione was wearing a shorter skirt, which showed a very big part of her legs. Her blouse was tighter than usually, so that her figure came out better. The top buttons of it were unbuttoned and her hair was abnormally neat.

'What do you mean?' Hermione asked innocently.

'Come on, why are you dressed like this?'

'Do you like it?' Hermione asked, ignoring Harry's questions.

'I think it is sexy, yes. Maybe a little bit too sexy, but it suits you,' Harry said honestly.

'Then what is the problem?' Hermione said.

'Nothing, you just look so… different. And I was wondering why,' Harry tried again.

'Because I felt like it.'

'Is it to impress your crush?' Harry teased.

'Maybe. Do you think it would work?' Hermione asked.

'Depends on who it is, but you are refusing to tell me,' Harry said.

'Harry, stop being so nosy! It is none of your business and when I want to wear this, then I am wearing this,' Hermione said.

'Okay, okay, I just wanted…'

But Harry never got the chance to say what he wanted, because Ron came downstairs with a sleepy look on his face. He didn't seem to notice the chance in Hermione's clothes at all. Not that Harry or Hermione were expecting him to. Knowing Ron, he wouldn't even notice when Hermione was wearing a house-elf sleeve.

'Morning, Harry, 'Mione,' Ron said.

'Morning,' Harry and Hermione answered and they went down for breakfast.

* * *

In the afternoon, during Defense Against the Dark Arts, Hermione noticed that her classmates were also dressed remarkably different. Lavender and Parvati had the same strategy as Hermione, seeing their clothes. Sophie was wearing more make-up than she usually did. Of course professor Lupin had noticed this change in his students, but he didn't say anything, he only raised one eyebrow when he saw the girls.

The lesson was very interesting, they all had to fight a boggart. Parvati tried to faint indeed when she had to face her worst fear, but Lupin didn't fall for that. Of course he didn't, he was smarter than that. He saw that she was perfectly fine and all Parvati got was a scolding for disturbing the lesson.

Lavender also tried to get some attention from the professor, and it went well, until she started a fight with Sophie. That fight was about the professor, of course, but he didn't know that.

'You bitch! You are so selfish!' Sophie cried and she hit Lavender with a book.

'I am not! You are going to pay for that!' Lavender shouted back and she slammed her fist in Sophie's face, which caused a bleeding nose.

'You are pathetic! I can't believe I ever considered you as a friend!' Sophie yelled as she grabbed Lavender's hair.

'Why are you so jealous? You are unbelievable!' Lavender punched Sophie in the stomach. The two were now on the ground, swearing at each other.

'ENOUGH!' Lupin shouted and the girls stopped immediately. 'What do you think you are doing? Thirty points from Gryffindor! Don't let me see you in a fight ever again, or you will be in much more trouble. Now get out of this class and inform professor McGonagall.'

'I am sorry, sir, please don't…' Lavender tried, but Lupin didn't want to hear it.

'Get out, Miss Brown, now. Don't make me say it again,' Lupin repeated and his voice became a little bit less friendly.

Sophie and Lavender nodded and went both out. Hermione smiled in herself. The others had failed and now she had no competition at all. She looked at professor Lupin, who was still a bit angry. Not that Hermione minded, she loved it when he was angry. It gave him a sort of dominant look.

'That was it for today, I'll see you again on Friday,' Lupin said at the end of the lesson and the students grabbed their bags and headed towards the door.

Hermione, however, stayed in the classroom again. Even Parvati left as soon as possible, probably still embarrassed by her actions.

'Professor?' Hermione asked carefully.

'Yes, Miss Granger?' Lupin said, not looking up from his desk.

'I have a question about that assignment from last week,' Hermione said, wondering why her professor wouldn't look at her.

'Oh, and that is?'

'I was wondering if I could have it back, I wanted to bring some other elements in it so I could get a better mark for it,' Hermione said.

'I don't have it for you now, it is in my office. I will give it to you on Friday,' Lupin said. His answer was very short and not that warm, which was not where Hermione was hoping for.

'But, professor, I was hoping that you could give it to me now so that I don't have to think about it anymore,' Hermione said.

Lupin sighed and walked away from his desk.

'Miss Granger, why are you doing this?' he asked, looking out of a window.

'What am I doing, sir?' Hermione asked.

'You know what I am talking about.'

'No, professor, I'm sorry, but I don't.'

'Your clothes, why are you wearing those clothes? What do you want to achieve with this? It is not like I haven't noticed your strange behavior,' Lupin asked, now more softly.

'I… I don't wanted to… I mean… why don't you look at me?' Hermione asked, not knowing what she had to say else.

'I can't. Please, answer my question now,' Lupin demanded and his voice became low.

'I think…' Hermione hesitated for a moment, 'that… I have a crush…'

'I think that you should leave,' Lupin said, not waiting for Hermione to finish her sentence.

'No, professor, I won't leave! You have no idea how this is for me! Please, look at me, you are making me very uncomfortable,' Hermione said frustrated. She wanted that kiss and she was going to get it. Right now and right here.

'No, Miss Granger, get out,' Lupin said and he turned around. Now looking at Hermione. When he looked at her, his heart was filled with desire. She looked beautiful, but it was too dangerous. He couldn't do this. He couldn't let the wolf have his way.

'Professor, why aren't you just calling me Hermione, like you always do? Do I make you nervous?' Hermione asked, coming a little bit closer to the professor.

'Don't do this. I am serious. Now get out before it is too late,' Lupin growled.

'Why? I don't want to leave yet,' Hermione said, still coming closer.

Lupin wondered for how long he could take this.

'Hermione! Get out, or you will regret this!' Lupin said, raising his voice a little bit now. But Hermione took one step closer to him and pressed her lips against his. She was demanding and Lupin felt that the wolf was asking for more. He couldn't control it. He grabbed Hermione with both hands and pressed her against the wall with an enormous strength.

'Run, now. You don't know what you are doing,' Lupin tried one last time, but Hermione was having too much fun. She loved the way he had her pinned against the wall and she loved the kiss. She just wanted one more.

'Come on, one more kiss,' Hermione said, but then she saw something in Lupin's eyes. 'Professor? Your eyes…'

Lupin felt that he couldn't control himself any longer. He had known for a longer time that Hermione was his mate, but he didn't want to bother her with that. Now that she was so persisting, there was no way back for her and he knew that. He just didn't hope that he was going to hurt her.

'You are mine, Hermione. Mine. Do you understand?' Lupin asked with a dominant voice.

'But… Professor, I… Are you?' Hermione stuttered, she saw the yellow eyes of her teacher. She had read something about that. He was a werewolf. She had been so stupid, God knows what he was going to do know.

'I've asked you something,' Lupin said again with a soft growl.

'Y-yes, I understand,' Hermione managed to say, not knowing what she had to say else. She had read about this as well. It seemed that her professor wanted to lay claim on her and that he considered her as his mate. Of course, she wanted him still, but she was not prepared for this.

Lupin pressed Hermione stronger against the wall, closing the gap between them. He pressed his lips against her once more, now more demanding and rough. His hands pressed painfully against Hermione's shoulders, which made her wince. She tried to get his hands off her, without success.

'No, you can't go back. I will have you. You are mine and no one else's,' Lupin growled against her lips. He suddenly lifted her up and lay her down on the desk, with surprisingly much softness.

'Please, professor…' Hermione began.

'No, call me Remus, I am yours after all,' Lupin said, kissing her once again.

'Remus, I don't think I can…' Hermione started again, only to be interrupted.

'Then why are you dressed like this? You can't deny, you want me as well, I can smell you. I've told you that there is no way back. I've warned you. Now I can't let you go,' Remus said in her ear. Hermione felt his breath against her skin and she did enjoy it, she couldn't deny that. But still, he was her teacher. But whatever she tried to say, Remus didn't let go of her. He didn't stop. And Hermione really didn't mind.


	3. Chapter 3

'And?' Lavender and Sophie asked Parvati and Hermione.

Parvati shook her head sadly.

'No, I went away, I was really ashamed of my pathetic fainting stunt,' she said.

'Well, it is not like we did a great job, we were having a fight right in front of him! That angry Remmy makes a sexy Remmy, though,' Sophie said.

'What about you, Hermione? You haven't done anything! Don't you want him?' Lavender asked a deeply blushing Hermione.

'I… I may have gone to him after class…' Hermione started, she was secretly dying to tell the others, but she was not sure if they would be so positive about it.

'And? Did you kiss him?' Parvati insisted.

Hermione nodded, not looking the other girls in the eyes. Her face went possibly more red.

'Only kisses? Your face tells me something else,' Lavender said. 'Did you two…'

'Don't be ridiculous, Lavender, of course she didn't,' Sophie said, giving Lavender a glare. 'Remus is a teacher, he wouldn't do that.'

Hermione made a weird sound and trembled all over her body suddenly.

'Seriously, Hermione, did you?' Sophie said.

Hermione nodded, that was the only thing she could do at the moment.

'Oh my God! No! How dare you!' Parvati shouted.

'Excuse me?' Hermione asked, looking up at Parvati.

'The rules were; only kissing! You can't do this to us! Why are you so selfish?' Parvati shouted.

'You… I… I beg your pardon? This is none of your business! Remus just clearly didn't want you, because he already liked me!' Hermione said frustrated. She was normally never this snappy towards someone, but the girls really upset her.

'What?! You bitch! You forced yourself on him, didn't you? You used a charm, or a love potion, or something else!' Parvati said.

Hermione looked at the other two girls, but they were not going to help her either. They were just as jealous as Parvati.

'Of course I didn't! Remus is a grown-up man who can make his own decisions, I don't need cheater stuff to make him love me!' Hermione yelled angrily.

'Of course you did!' Parvati cried and she lunged for Hermione. Hermione found herself on the ground in the next second with Parvati on top of her. Then she felt something warm on her face, her nose was bleeding. Another punch on her jaw, her eye, her cheek.

'Stop it, Parvati! Stop!' Lavender yelled and she grabbed Parvati to pull her off Hermione.

'She deserved this! Steeling our man from us!' Parvati shouted.

Hermione decided to ignore this and she went to her bed. Those bruises on her face would really show tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning, Hermione walked out of the dormitory and the common room all on her own, not wanting to be seen by anyone. Especially not by Harry or Ron, they would ask her only questions, and that was the last thing she wanted. On the stairs, she changed her mind. There were also a lot of people in the great hall for breakfast, they could also see her bruises. So Hermione turned and walked into a random corridor where she bumped into someone. Remus Lupin.

'Hermione? What are you doing here?' he asked softly.

'I am… lost, professor,' Hermione said, not looking him in the eyes.

'Please, call me Remus. Listen, Hermione, I am… sorry. I shouldn't have…' Remus started, but Hermione cut him off.

'No! Don't say you are sorry! I wanted it as well!' Hermione said.

'I wasn't myself… I didn't want you to find out that way about my other side. But don't get me wrong, I don't regret what happened between us yesterday.'

'Me neither, Remus. But… what is going to happen next?' Hermione asked, still looking at the ground because of her bruises.

'Well, my wolf has considered you as his mate. That means that you and I are now only for each other. You can't flirt with another guy in my presence, because I can't guarantee that that guy is getting away with it alive. Of course I understand when you want to be with someone else, but you can't be in front of me. You understand?' Remus asked carefully. He felt guilty for doing this to Hermione, but she really had to be careful.

'I don't want to be with someone else! I love you!' Hermione said convincing.

'Say that to me while looking me in the eyes,' Remus said.

Hermione did, and on that point, Remus saw her bruises.

'Hermione! What happened! Oh my… I didn't do this to you, did I?' Remus asked almost panicked.

'No, no, you were treating me well, it's just… I had a fight with someone,' she said.

'Who? Who was it?' Remus asked and his eyes hardened. His protective side was already taking over and he would do anything to punish the one who had caused the injuries on his mate's face.

'Please, you are not going to hurt her, are you?' Hermione asked not so certain.

'Oh, is it a she? I am not exactly going to hurt her, but I do want to make it clear to her that she can't just punch you whenever she feels like it. Everyone who dares to touch you has to answer to me.'

'Alright, it was Parvati,' Hermione said, feeling that it would be a great pay back for her. Parvati was not going to like a scolding from her favorite teacher.

'I'll make sure she doesn't try this again. Shall we go for breakfast together?' Remus asked.

Hermione smiled. 'I want a kiss first.'

Remus leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. Then Hermione grabbed his hand and they didn't go downstairs for breakfast, they went to a deserted classroom instead.

* * *

On Friday, the students were having Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione was a little bit nervous because of the fact that Remus had promised her to deal with Parvati. She just hoped that he didn't do that right in front of the whole class, because that would mean that everyone saw that Remus was being protective of Hermione.

'Miss Patil, please stay after class,' the professor said and Parvati nodded. She smiled very confidentially and Hermione didn't like her face at all. Like she thought she could have Remus.

When Lupin dismissed the class, Parvati approached Hermione.

'You see? He isn't only interested in you,' she sneered.

Hermione ignored her and walked out of the classroom, after Remus had given her a warm smile which made her heart melt.

Parvati walked towards the desk where Lupin was sitting and she checked quickly if her clothes and hair were neat enough.

'Don't even bother, Miss Patil,' Remus said sharply.

'Why… what did I do wrong, sir?' Parvati asked innocently.

'I wanted to let you know that beating up your classmates will not be tolerated,' Lupin said sternly.

'But, professor, I didn't beat up anyone,' Parvati said.

'I'm warning you, Miss Patil, don't mess me around. If you ever touch Miss Granger again, then I will make sure that you are in so much problems that you wished you had never punched her,' Lupin said, standing up from his chair.

'But I…' Parvati began, but the professor held up his hand to silence her.

'I don't want to hear it! Just leave now, and know that I am keeping an eye on you. One wrong move towards Miss Granger and you will regret it,' Lupin said and he turned around. That was a clue for Parvati to leave.

'Professor?' Parvati asked hesitantly.

'Yes?' Lupin said curtly.

'What is it exactly between you and Hermione?' Parvati asked.

'That is not something I am going to tell you. I strongly recommend to keep your nose in your own business,' Lupin said and he walked to his office.

Parvati left the classroom and thought about how her teacher had responded. There was definitely something going on between that man and Hermione, so Hermione was not really lying about what had happened that afternoon in the Defense classroom. Parvati decided to apologize to Hermione for her behavior. Maybe she should let professor Lupin go, he was clearly only interested in Hermione.


	4. Chapter 4

'Hermione?'

'Yes, Harry?'

'Why have you drawn hearts on your timetable?'

'Because I was bored.'

'The hearts are only by the lessons Defense Against the Dark Arts. Why is that?'

'Harry! Why are you so damn stubborn?'

'Calm down Hermione, I was just wondering. Do you…' Harry was silent for a moment.

'Do I what?' Hermione snapped.

'Do you… do you like professor Lupin?' Harry asked carefully.

Hermione could only blush.

'Hermione! That man is twenty years older than you are!' Harry said.

'Thank you for mentioning, Harry, I hadn't figure that out yet,' Hermione said.

'But it is just a crush, right? You don't really want to… you know…' Harry said, not wanting to finish his sentence.

'We already did,' Hermione said without blinking. She felt that she had to tell her best friend the truth, even if he wouldn't approve.

'You are joking, right?'

'No, I am not,' Hermione said, she didn't mention that Lupin was a werewolf, she was certain that Remus wouldn't like it when his secret was going through the whole school.

'But…' Harry started.

'Harry, what exactly is your problem?' Hermione asked.

'Nothing! I mean, I don't have a problem, but…'

'But what?'

'It is Ron. He… he likes you. I mean, he doesn't really show it, but he likes you. He is insecure, that is why he hasn't told you yet, but if you tell him about your relationship with Lupin, it will break his heart!' Harry said.

Hermione was silent for a moment. She didn't expect this. She liked Ron as well, but she had always thought that he wasn't interested in her that way. Now her feelings for Ron had faded away and she really loved Remus. Hermione wanted to tell Ron, but this just had changed everything.

'But, Ron has the right to know,' Hermione said.

'I know. And you are going to have to tell him.'

'I will.'

'You seem to be pretty sure about your relationship. How do you know this is not just a crush? He is your professor! This could all be over by tomorrow, right?'

'No, it won't. I am sure about that.

'How do you…' Harry said.

'Not here! Come with me,' Hermione said and she grabbed Harry's arm and pushed him in an empty broom closet.

'Hermione! What is it?' Harry said curiously.

'About Remus… professor Lupin… He is… I don't know how to say this. I don't know if I am allowed to tell you either, but I have to tell someone. Otherwise you wouldn't understand,' Hermione said.

'What is it then?' Harry asked, getting more and more curious.

'He is a… a werewolf,' Hermione whispered.

'WHAT?!' Harry almost shouted.

'Yes, do you understand know? He loves me and now he can't let me go anymore. That is why I know that this relationship is going to last.'

'And you love him too, right?' Harry asked, just to be sure.

'Yes, of course.'

'It is true then? Those stories about mating and that kind of stuff?' Harry asked.

'I guess it is, yes.'

'Then it is serious. I really don't know how Ron is going to react. Are you going to tell him about Lupin being a werewolf?'

'I don't know yet. Firstly I want to see his reaction,' Hermione said.

'I understand.'

'You do? You don't think this all is wrong?' Hermione asked happily, her eyes glistered by the fact that Harry was taking this so lightly.

'As long as you are happy, I am okay with it,' Harry said simply.

'Oh Harry! Thank you!' Hermione said relieved and she hugged Harry tightly.

'Don't let your boyfriend see this, or he will kill me,' Harry laughed as he tried to loosen Hermione's grip around his neck.

'No, because if he does, I will kill him too,' Hermione said laughing.

'You know you wouldn't,' Harry said.

'No, you're right,' Hermione said and she let go of Harry. 'Where is Ron?'

'In the common room, I think. He has to finish something for Transfiguration,' Harry said.

* * *

Hermione walked into the Gryffindor common room, looking around for Ron. She didn't see him anywhere.

'Neville?' Hermione asked the boy who was sitting on the couch. 'Have you seen Ron?'

'Yes, he was here, but he said he had forgotten something in the library. I think he is there now.'

'Thanks,' Hermione said and she left the common room.

On her way to the library, she saw Ron Weasley. He was apparently on his way to the common room, because the library was the other way. Hermione waved at him and when he saw her, he smiled.

'Hey, 'Mione!' he said.

'Ron! I was looking for you,' Hermione said.

'Oh? Why?' Ron asked.

'I've spoken to Harry and he told me something that I wanted to discuss with you,' Hermione began. She didn't really know how she had to say this.

'Okay? I am listening,' Ron said.

'It was about you and… me… and that you… like me? And I wanted you to know that I can't really love you back, I mean, I like you, but it can't be more,' Hermione said, having a double feeling about it. Once she really loved Ron, so this was a bit hard to say.

'You know? Harry shouldn't have…' Ron said.

'No, no! It was not Harry's fault, I found out when we were discussing something else! Something I wanted to tell you, too,' Hermione continued.

'Hermione, more I don't need to hear! I… I don't know if…' Ron said.

'Please, listen to me. You really need to know. I am in love with someone else,' Hermione said. 'And I don't know if you would approve, but… I am in love with Remus.'

'You… what? Not… no, you mean another Remus, not our professor, right?' Ron asked.

'Yes, our professor, please, Ron, please I…' Hermione started, but Ron didn't want to hear it.

'What are you thinking!? He is twice your age! He is your teacher! You are not… you two are not dating, are you?'

'Yes, we are… Ron, I like you as a friend, I want you to understand! You know, I have even loved you for a while, but I thought you weren't interested in me!' Hermione said.

'You… you did? Then why didn't you tell me?' Ron asked.

'Because I was not certain if you loved me back! I didn't want to ruin our friendship,' Hermione said truthfully.

'It is not too late, Hermione, please! Give me another chance!' Ron almost begged.

'You don't understand, Ron, I can't.'

'You always have a choice! Please, give it a try?'

'No, Ron, I can't and you should accept that. I am in love with Remus.'

Hermione wanted to walk away to have a moment for herself, but Ron grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.

'Please, Hermione,' he said softly. Hermione tried to get away, but somehow she couldn't. Maybe she didn't really want to get away from him. Ron came closer to her and he pressed his lips softly on hers. Hermione knew she couldn't do this. She loved Remus, right? And besides, this way she brought Ron in danger.

Hermione wanted to pull away from the kiss, but she found that she couldn't. When Ron drew back, he looked at her hesitantly.

'No, Ron, we can't. I'll tell you why. Not here,' Hermione said and she walked into an empty room.

Ron tried to get closer once more, but Hermione stopped him.

'Listen to me first,' Hermione ordered.

When she saw that Ron was listening, she continued.

'Remus loves me. That means in his case that he can't let go of me. I love him too, okay? Remus is not… I mean, he is not the same as you. He is a… a werewolf,' Hermione said, she looked at Ron and waited for his reaction.

'A… a… don't you know how bloody dangerous that is? Is he… has he already claimed you? Or… what is it called? Mate?' Ron asked.

'Yes, he considers me as his, which means that I can't have a relationship with you. It would be dangerous for both of us, and I don't want to hurt Remus, because I love him,' Hermione decided to say.

'Lupin would never hurt one of us, right?' Ron asked uncertainly.

'No, Remus would never hurt anyone. He is a sweet man and always polite, but he also is a wolf and he can't always control that. No matter how much he tries, there is always a part of him that wants to kill and hurt. I wouldn't try to put his patience to the test, if I were you,' Hermione said.

'I refuse to let a werewolf stand in our way, Hermione, I love you,' Ron said, pulling Hermione closer.

'This is not right, Ron, you know that, you're playing with fire,' Hermione said.

'It is a risk I am willing to take. You don't have to choose, not yet. Soon you will realize that I am better for you than a dangerous monster,' Ron whispered.

'He is not a monster! And he loves me!' Hermione said indignantly.

'Whatever you say,' Ron said and he leaned in for another kiss.

* * *

**Hey! I hope you liked the story so far. Please let me know what you think :) **

**I am going to post a new chapter very soon.**

**Oh, and if there is something not right with my English, please let me know, because I'm Dutch and I am not always that certain about my word choice and about my grammar. It's still difficult :p**

**X PerfectStoryLove**


	5. Chapter 5

Late in the afternoon, after dinner, Hermione decided to pay Remus a visit. She wanted to know what he had said to Parvati. And of course, she wanted to just see him for a while and to be in his arms for a longer while. When she was at the door of Remus's office, she raised her hand and knocked on the door.

'Come in,' was the voice of Remus. Hermione entered and Remus smiled when he saw who it was.

'Hermione! Good to see you, I was already afraid that you had forgotten about me,' he said happily.

Remus stood up and hugged Hermione. His smell was better than Ron's, Hermione thought. And he was so much stronger, she could tell by the way he hugged her. In Remus' arms she felt safe. Then he leaned in to kiss her, but he almost immediately pulled back.

'What is it, Remus?' Hermione asked a little bit startled.

'I can smell you, but… there is another scent. From another man. All over you, how comes that?' Remus demanded.

'That must be Ron, I think, I have told him about our relationship and after our conversation we hugged,' Hermione said, she could leave the kissing bit better out.

'No, I would know if it was only hugging. Your lips, Hermione, you have kissed someone else,' Remus said and Hermione blushed. She hadn't expect this.

'Have you seriously kissed Ron?' Remus asked sternly.

'I… I was… he… no I…' Hermione tried to formulate her sentence, but she didn't manage. She looked frightened at Remus, but his face was still calm. Wasn't he mad at her? Or at Ron?

'You must know, Hermione, that I respect your wills. You are my mate. I only want the best for you,' Remus said, and when he saw Hermione's still frightened face, he added, 'don't worry, I have two weeks to go until it is full moon, I have everything under control.'

Hermione relaxed a little bit, but she was still not at ease.

'You are still mine, you know that. If you want to be with Ron, however, I am not sure if I can control my emotions. So I highly recommend not to let this happen again. Or, if you really want to be with Ron, you should tell me now and I shall leave you alone. I shall have to resign,' Remus said.

Hermione only looked at him, not really knowing what to say. She wanted to be with Remus and she wanted Ron to be safe from him.

'I love you, Remus, I really do,' Hermione said.

'Then stop kissing Ron,' Remus said simply.

'I will, please, don't hurt him, he has done nothing wrong,' Hermione said with a begging expression on her face.

'I won't hurt him, but I can't allow this to happen a second time. If he tries something with you again, I can't promise that I won't do something to him,' Remus stated. 'Please don't try me, I don't want to hurt anyone. I would never hurt someone. Not as long as I am in control of my emotions.'

'I understand,' Hermione said. 'Please forgive me. Don't be mad at me, I will make it right with you.'

'Oh, really? And how exactly do you want to make it right with me then?' Remus asked with a playful smile.

'First you will tell me what you have said to Parvati,' Hermione said.

'Come on, that can wait,' Remus sighed.

'No, it can't wait, you are going to tell me now,' Hermione ordered.

'Was that an order, Miss Granger?' Remus asked threatening.

'Maybe it was,' Hermione giggled.

'Maybe it was what?'

'Sir,' Hermione added.

'Come here you,' Remus said and he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer. Then he kissed her hungrily. When he deepened the kiss, Hermione pulled back.

'Tell me now, Remus!' she said stubbornly.

'Alright, alright!' Remus sighed, knowing that she wouldn't give up. 'I have made clear that she was not allowed to hurt you and that she would regret it when she ever tried it again.'

'My brave wolf,' Hermione said teasingly, then she finally kissed Remus back. Remus smiled and he tackled her to the floor so that he was on top of her.

'Don't you ever forget it,' he growled. He grabbed her arms and held them above her head and then he leaned in for another kiss.

'Remus, we can't do this right now, I am supposed to be in the dormitory before ten,' Hermione said.

'Not when you are with a teacher,' Remus said and he continued the kissing.

'But my homework…' Hermione complained again, only to tease Remus.

'Can wait. Right now you are just going to do what I want. You are not disobeying your teacher, are you, Miss Granger? I believe you still have to make something right,' Remus said, not loosening his grip on Hermione. Now he started to kiss her neck which pleased Hermione. She liked it when he was this dominant.

'Of course not, sir. You are right,' Hermione said and she turned so that she ended on top. It wasn't really her intention in first place to be in her dormitory at ten. The only thing she wanted right now, was Remus.

* * *

Around half past eleven, Hermione and Remus walked back to the Gryffindor tower. Remus had to walk with Hermione to keep her out of trouble because she was out of bed this late. When they finally reached the portrait, Hermione noticed someone sitting in front of it.

'Neville? What are you doing here?' Hermione asked.

'I've forgotten the password, again,' Neville said, his face was red and he looked like he had been crying. 'Thank God you are here!'

Then his eyes drifted off to the man next to Hermione.

'Professor Lupin? What are you doing here?' he asked.

'I found Miss Granger walking through the corridor late this evening and I wanted to show her a book, so we went to drink some tea together,' Remus said with a straight face. How on earth did he do that? He was really good at lying. Of course, he had lied his whole life about who he really is, Hermione thought. Who he is… she had to tell Remus that she had told about him being a werewolf to Harry and Ron.

'Ehrm, professor? I wanted to ask you something,' Hermione said, then she looked at Neville. 'The password is _Dragonball_, Neville. I need to discuss something about that book with professor Lupin, I will be coming right after you.'

'Thanks, Hermione, bye, professor!' Neville said and he gave the Fat Lady the password.

When Neville was gone, Hermione turned to Remus.

'I need to tell you something… I may have told Harry and Ron about your… ehm… that you are a werewolf,' Hermione said carefully. She waited for Remus' reaction.

'You what?! Why?' Remus asked slightly panicked. He didn't want the whole school to know about his other side. He loved his job.

'Don't worry! They won't tell anyone,' Hermione said and Remus relaxed a little bit.

'You should have asked me first,' Remus said, wrapping his arms around Hermione.

'I know, I am sorry, but I felt it was necessary to tell them, because they wouldn't understand otherwise,' Hermione said.

'Wouldn't understand? You mean that you wouldn't love me if I wasn't a werewolf? Are you afraid to reject me? Is that it? Because if you are…' Remus began, but Hermione silenced him with a soft kiss.

'No, silly, I love you. I am not afraid of you, honestly. I've told them because it would explain why you couldn't let me go,' she said.

'So… you think I only love you because I am a wolf? Because that is not true, I love you with all my heart, not because I decided that you are my mate and…' Remus started again, but Hermione silenced him once more.

'Stop talking like this, Remus! I know that you love me, that was not the point! They are my best friends, they have the right to know,' Hermione said.

'I know that, and I appreciate you loyalty towards your friends. Friends are some of the most important people in your life, I know that. But I also know, from experience, that friends are not always to be trusted. Not that I don't trust Harry and Ron,' Remus said.

'I assure you, Harry and Ron are to be trusted. I would even trust them with my life,' Hermione said.

'Yes, I know someone who did the same thing…' Remus sighed as he looked down to Hermione.

'What do you mean? What happened?' Hermione asked curiously.

'Later, I'll tell you later. Now, go to sleep, you need to be alive tomorrow!' Remus said and he gave Hermione a final kiss.

'Yes, good night, I'll miss you,' she said and she walked to the portrait.

'I miss you already,' Remus smiled and he turned to walk back to his own office.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Just before you read this chapter; someone's asked me in which year this story takes place. I haven't mentioned a particular year, because I wasn't sure about that myself either. I've used a lot of elements from PoA as you may have noticed, but when I am writing this story, I don't see Hermione as a thirteen years old. I'd like to see her around seventeen, I guess. Otherwise it would make Remus a little bit illegal :p Anyways, here is the sixth chapter :) X**

* * *

In the girls dormitory, everyone was already in bed. They weren't asleep, though, much to Hermione's displeasure.

'Where have you been?' a voice came that sounded like Lavender's.

'Do you really want to know?' Hermione asked.

Then someone put a light on.

'Yes, I want to know,' Sophie said. 'Were you with Remus?'

'Maybe I was,' Hermione said.

'And? How was it? What happened?' Sophie asked.

Hermione looked around, she saw that Parvati was glaring at her, but she didn't say anything. Lavender was not looking too happy either. To avoid another fight about this, Hermione decided not to tell everyone about her nice evening.

'Nothing special. We've read a book,' she simply said.

'Really? Nothing more?' Sophie insisted.

'No!' Hermione exclaimed.

Right then. If you don't want him anymore that way…' Sophie continued.

'Shut up,' Hermione growled.

'Well, you could always go to Ron! He really likes you, you know? I don't know if you have ever noticed that, because the boy is shy as hell,' Lavender said.

'How do you know?' Hermione said.

'It is obvious, the way he looks at you. But he's too insecure to tell you,' Lavender said.

'Don't you like Ron? He is a very sweet guy. And pretty cute,' Sophie said.

'Then why are you not dating him? I like Ron as a friend, nothing more. Please just mind your own business,' Hermione snapped.

'Easy, Hermione. We just want the best for you! Or are you still in love with Remus? You know that he is a teacher, don't you? You could never have him. He is just not interested in you,' Lavender said.

'What do you know about that?' Hermione said angrily.

'Hermione is right, you don't know anything,' Parvati said suddenly. This was the first thing she had said since Hermione came into the dormitory.

'What?' Lavender and Sophie both asked.

'I've spoken to Remus. He really likes Hermione, God knows why. It was very obvious, he was upset because I hit her the other day,' Parvati said softly, so that everyone had to listen very carefully to be able to hear what she had to say.

'He really _likes _her? In that way?' Lavender asked surprised.

'Yes,' Parvati said bitterly.

'Does Ron know that?' Sophie asked.

'I don't see why you have to know that,' Hermione returned the question.

'Just curious,' Sophie said.

'Alright. He does know,' Hermione stated. 'Can I please go to bed now? I am tired and having this discussion with the three if you is like the last thing I want right now.'

The girls didn't say anything more after that and the light went out again. Finally Hermione had a moment for herself to think about everything that had happened. About Remus and about Ron. She didn't really have to choose, she knew that she was in love with Remus. But Ron… he was her best friend and she once loved him. Still thinking of the two men in her life, Hermione drifted into a deep sleep.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Harry and Ron were waiting in the common room for Hermione to go down for breakfast. Especially Ron couldn't wait to see Hermione again. He hadn't seen her since yesterday, and he really hoped that she had thought about the whole thing. Ron was really convinced that Hermione was in love with him. She was only too frightened to break up with Remus. So now he had to make sure she would she that she belonged to him. He didn't care about the fact that Remus was a werewolf and that he would not allow him anywhere near Hermione.

'Hermione!' Ron greeted when he saw her walking down the stairs.

'Hello, Harry, Ron,' she said back with a little smile.

Harry only smiled and then they all went downstairs for breakfast. When they almost reached the Great Hall, Ron tried to grab Hermione's hand, which she pulled back.

'Ron! Don't!' she said. 'Uhm, Harry? Is it alright if why join you later? I want to tell Ron something.'

'Yeah, sure,' Harry said and he went to the Great Hall.

As soon as Harry was out of sight, Hermione grabbed Ron and she pushed him outside the castle.

'Hermione! Why? It is freezing cold outside!' Ron complained.

'I don't care. At least no one hears us here.'

'What's your problem?'

'I've told you after that kiss that it had to stop. I was not joking. I don't want to lose you as my friend,' Hermione said.

'I don't want to be just a friend. You know that. And I think you love me too. Just admit it!' Ron said.

'I am not in love with you! You are being impossible! I love…' Hermione couldn't finish, because Ron pressed his lips against hers.

'Ron… please don't… You are making everything so much more difficult for me…' Hermione said against his lips.

'You are not resisting me. So that means that you do have some feelings for me, right?' Ron asked hopefully.

'Shut up! I've given up on you a long time ago and I don't want to fall in love with you again! I just can't!' Hermione exclaimed.

'You are just frightened, Hermione. You are afraid of what will happen to you or to me when Remus finds out that I am flirting with his mate. Well, I am not. I don't care that he is a werewolf and I will not let him stand between us. I am not afraid of him,' Ron said, kissing her neck.

'That is totally not the point, Ronald!' Hermione said frustrated. 'I. Love. Him.'

'I am not going to except that answer.'

'You would except it if you were my friend.'

'I've told you, I want to be more than friends.'

'Too bad that I don't feel the same way about you then!' Hermione shouted and she pushed Ron off her. Then she walked back to the castle with bog steps, leaving a disappointed Ron behind.

Ron remained his place and watched as Hermione walked away. She was not really angry with him, he could feel it. But he had to make sure she was staying away from the Defense teacher, and that was not going to be very easy. And it was a little bit tricky, probably. Monday, during Defense, he would show that werewolf that he is not the only one who is after Hermione.

* * *

Hermione walked straight towards Harry when she was in the warm Great Hall. It was really a relief compared to the cold atmosphere outside.

'Hermione? Where were you?' Harry asked.

'I was outside. With Ron,' she answered.

'Why?'

'Because I had to make clear that I am not interested in him in the romantic way,' Hermione said.

'And does he understand?'

'No, not really, I think. He is so stubborn and stupid.'

'I already thought so. He can't let you go entirely.'

'He is just so insisting, I can't stand it anymore. What on earth did I ever see in that guy?'

'Come on, Hermione, he is frustrated, nothing more. I'm sure he understands that you love another.'

'No! That's his problem! He doesn't see that I am in love with Remus and he just refuses to accept that! And apart from that, he is playing a very dangerous game. He doesn't see the consequences,' Hermione said.

'I'll try to reason him. If you want me to,' Harry suggested.

'If you want to do that, that would be great. Maybe he listens to you?'

'I hope so. If not, than that is his problem, not ours,' Harry stated.

'You're right, I am making a point of nothing, I shouldn't let it bother me this much. I just don't want to lose Ron as my friend,' Hermione said.

'I know that. It will be alright. Do you want to play some chess with me?' Harry asked with a smile.

'I'd love to,' Hermione said, smiling back.


	7. Chapter 7

It was Monday morning after lunch and the students were on their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ron was really excited, he was finally going to show Lupin that he had some competition to deal with. Hermione would see that she had nothing to fear and then she could finally make her own choice. Ron was sure that Hermione was going to choose for him. He was after all her friend for quite some time and he was more of her age. She had to choose him.

When everyone was in the classroom, Ron decided to sit down next to Hermione. Hermione didn't want to make a point of it, Ron had sat next to her before. It felt different somehow compared to other times. It was like he wasn't sitting next to her as a friend, but it was as though he wanted to make a point. And Hermione didn't like it for one bit.

'Ron, you have enough space, do you really have to sit so close?' Hermione asked irritated.

'What's wrong? I'm a little bit cold, that's all,' Ron said.

Hermione rolled her eyes and tried to move a little bit away from Ron. Then professor Lupin came into the classroom.

'Please open your books on page 86 about Grindylows,' he said and he sat down behind his desk.

'Hermione? Can we share your book? I left mine in the dormitory,' Ron whispered close to her ear.

'Then you should go and get it, Ronald. I want to concentrate,' Hermione snapped.

'Please, Hermione, I won't bother you,' Ron begged.

'Oh, alright. But don't forget it again,' Hermione said, slightly annoyed. She picked up her book and laid it down in the middle of the desk, so that she had to sit close to Ron. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to read her own book. In the meantime, Lupin had started his lecture.

'Grindylows are not very dangerous, unless you don't know how to defend yourself from them. This creatures have a very strong grip, which you need to break before they kill you. The Grindylow lives mainly in the lakes of Northern England and Ireland,' he said.

Ron wasn't listening at all. He was too busy watching Hermione.

'Hermione?' he asked.

Hermione decided to ignore him. She preferred to watch Remus.

'Hermione?' he tried again.

'What?' she finally said, but not very kindly.

'Do you want a Cauldron Cake? I took some with me during lunch,' Ron whispered. He came very close to her when he asked her.

'No, Ron, I don't. You've just had lunch, how on earth can you be hungry?' Hermione asked.

'Don't know, never mind,' he said as he kept staring at Hermione.

Remus continued his lecture, but in the meantime, he saw that Ron was sitting very close to Hermione. His Hermione. He tried not to look at them and to continue his lesson, but it was difficult not to look at the two. Ron was only watching her.

'Mr. Weasley, please pay some more attention to my class and some less attention to Miss Granger,' he said firmly.

Ron didn't answer, but he did look at the teacher now instead of Hermione.

'Right, now please read the text about Grindylows on page 86, 87 and 88 and write a summery for the next lesson. You can start on it now,' Lupin said. It was really only an excuse so he didn't have to look at Ron and Hermione. He was afraid that he couldn't take it any longer, so he decided to focus on the paper work in front of him.

Ron noticed that the professor was not looking at him and Hermione anymore. But he had to. Ron wanted to show Lupin that Hermione loved Ron, not Lupin. He quickly grabbed Hermione's hand in a reflex. Hermione didn't pull back, because she was too surprised.

'Professor!' Ron called suddenly.

Professor Lupin looked up from his work, he couldn't just ignore a student, not even when it was Ron. He noticed that Ron and Hermione were holding hands. What on earth were they trying to do?

'Yes, Mr. Weasley,' Lupin said, quickly looking back to his own work.

'There is something in this book and we need your help with it. We don't quite understand it,' Ron said and Hermione gave him a suspicious look, though neither Ron nor Remus saw that. She also pulled her hand back quickly.

'I doubt that, Miss Granger is a very bright student,' Lupin said, not looking in their direction.

'Please, professor,' Ron tried again and with a sigh Lupin rose up from his desk.

'Alright then, what is it?' he asked when he had reached the desk where Ron and Hermione were sitting. He saw that Ron didn't hold Hermione's hand anymore. That was good.

'It is about this part,' Ron said and he pointed at a picture in the book. 'The text says that a Grindylow has long fingers, but in this picture, it hasn't.'

Hermione sighed, it was a really stupid question. Then she suddenly felt something in her neck. Ron had put his arm around her! Why did he do that? She tried to shake him off subtly, but his arm was still there.

Remus had noticed it as well, but he decided to ignore it. He had to control his temper, it was not right to scold a student for something like this.

'Look at the caption, Weasley, I am sure you are able to find your answer there. The picture shows a young Grindylow, which means…' Lupin explained, but he was distracted once more. Ron was now rubbing Hermione's shoulder with his hand.

'Enough, get out, Mr. Weasley, now,' Lupin ordered, not able to take this any longer.

'What did I do wrong, professor?' Ron asked innocently.

'You are not paying attention to my class. I am explaining something to you, and all you can do is touching Hermione,' Lupin said. Then he realized that he had addressed Hermione with her first name and not with Miss Granger.

'So? What's wrong about that?' Ron dared the professor.

'You are supposed to pay attention and to leave Miss Granger alone so that she can do the same thing. Now get out,' Lupin said softly. His eyes were getting a little bit yellow, both Hermione and Ron noticed. That was Ron's clue to leave, but not without one last flirt.

'See you, 'Mione,' he said and he gave her a wink.

Lupin watched Ron leave the classroom. He looked calm, but the threat was there in his eyes. When he turned to Hermione, he saw that she looked helpless. Lupin ignored her and he walked back to his own desk where he tried to concentrate on his papers once more.

* * *

Hermione walked out of the classroom after Defense, she hadn't wanted to talk to Remus after this and he certainly didn't want to talk to her either. When she reached the corridor, she saw Ron. Was he really waiting for her? Even after this? He really has a problem. Why is he being so stupid?

'Hermione!' Ron called and he waved at her.

Hermione sighed and walked over to Ron.

'Hey,' he said smiling.

'Why are you still smiling? You are being so stupid and stubborn!' Hermione exclaimed.

'No, I am not. I am helping you,' Ron simply said.

'I don't need help, Ronald! How many times do I have to tell you that I am not interested? Just leave me alone and stop angering Remus!' Hermione said frustrated.

'I just want you to realize that you are in love with me and I want him to realize that he is not the only one who is in love with you,' Ron said.

'Ron, please, stop this. You have no idea what you are doing. Please,' Hermione begged.

'I know exactly what I am doing, trust me.'

Ron took one step closer to Hermione and took her hand. He wanted to be with her so badly, but then she had to break up with Remus. At this point, Ron had no idea how he was going to get her so far. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, in the middle of the corridor, where everyone could see them. Hermione tried to resist, but eventually she relaxed.

'Ron, you are ruining our friendship,' she said softly.

'That is exactly my intention. I want to be more than friends,' he whispered and he kissed her cheek. When Hermione didn't pull back, he caught her lips with his.

'No, Ron, I don't want this,' Hermione whispered back, but she didn't break the kiss.

Hermione had a double feeling. Why was she not fighting this kiss? She didn't love Ron, right? He was just a friend, nothing more. She had to stop this.

But before Hermione could break the kiss, someone else did it for her.

* * *

**Hi! So I was wondering... on whose side are you? Do you want Hermione to end up with Remus or do you want her to be with Ron? Please review! I'm curious :p **


	8. Chapter 8

It took Hermione more than one second to realize what just had happened. One moment Ron was kissing her, the other moment Ron was suddenly gone. When Hermione looked around to see what had happened, she saw Ron. Ron was against the wall, being held by his collar by Remus. And he looked not very pleased.

Ron was just as surprised as Hermione, but he didn't have the time to be surprised. He tried his best to push Remus away in vain.

'What are you doing? Get off me!' Ron yelled.

But Remus didn't let go. Instead, he grabbed Ron by his arm and threw him in an empty classroom.

'What was that for?' Ron asked, rubbing his sore arm.

'You tell me,' Remus growled. His eyes were yellow and they were flashing with anger.

'First you throw me out of class, then you smash me against a wall and now you have thrown me in an empty classroom without a reason! Are you mad?' Ron exclaimed.

'Don't you talk to me like that! I am still your teacher,' Remus said, he sounded a little bit scary, his eyes were furious, but his voice sounded dangerously calm.

'Then tell me, what the hell is wrong with you, _professor_?' Ron asked sarcastically.

Ron regretted his remark instantly. A fist hit him almost directly in the face.

'That was for kissing Hermione,' Remus growled.

'I can kiss my girlfriend whenever I feel like it! You've got nothing to do with that! It's none of your business!' Ron shouted, rubbing his jaw.

'Hermione is mine! Not yours! And you know that! You have no right to…' Remus shouted back, but he was interrupted by Ron.

'I have every right! You can't just claim her, if she loves me, then that is her own choice!'

'She doesn't love you. I know that. She can't. Do I have to remind you to what I am?' Remus asked, taking a step closer to the younger boy.

'I know what you are, I am not afraid of you!'

'You should be… If I see you ever again flirting with my Hermione, then you will regret it. You are lucky that I haven't killed you yet…' Remus said, taking another step closer. He heard Ron's heart beating faster.

'No, I am not going to take orders from you! I know that you can't let her go, so you should leave this castle! I have no idea why Dumbledore hired you in first place! You are a bloody animal!' Ron shouted, he sounded braver than he felt.

'If you value your life, you'd better run away very fast,' Remus growled with gritted teeth. When Ron didn't walk away, Remus grabbed his collar and threw him against the wall.

'Get off me!' Ron yelled.

'Swear to me that you leave her alone,' Remus said through clenched teeth.

'You know that I would never do that,' Ron snapped.

'You've got a lot of nerve, you know? I will get that out of you. You will learn not to anger me,' Remus said with a menacing tone of voice, close to Ron's ear, still having a firm grip on his collar.

'If you beat me up, then I'll tell everyone what you are,' Ron threatened.

'Are you blackmailing me, Weasley?' Remus said, but his grip loosened a little bit.

'Maybe I am, please try me,' Ron dared Remus.

'You are challenging me, that is not really clever. Do you even know what I am capable of? I don't know if I can hold my temper any longer. If I consider you as a threat, then I'll make sure that you won't be able to tell anything to anyone, you understand?' Remus' grip grew stronger once more.

'Beating me up won't hold me back from telling everyone the truth.'

'I wasn't talking about only beating you up,' Remus said threatening. Then Remus let go of Ron and Ron sank to the floor with a white face. He knew that he didn't stand a chance against a werewolf when that werewolf really wanted to kill him.

Ron wasn't sure whether Remus really had the intention to kill him or not, but the look on his face was murderous. For the first time, Ron was afraid of what was going to come.

Remus approached Ron slowly with clenched fists. He looked down at the boy and he felt the wolf in him taking over control. Why was he still there? Had he given up? He should run away while he still could. But Ron remained his place.

Ron couldn't fight back if it came to a fight, he was not strong enough compared to an angry werewolf. And Remus certainly looked like he wanted to put up a fight. He had been so stupid.

* * *

Hermione saw Remus throwing Ron in the classroom. She knew better than following them, she would only make things worse if she did. So she ran out the corridor, looking for Harry, maybe he knew what to do. He was probably on his way to the Gryffindor Tower, so Hermione raced up the stairs. There she saw Harry, almost on the sixth floor.

'Harry!' Hermione shouted out of breath and she grabbed Harry's arm to carry him away to the third floor where Ron and Remus were.

'Hermione! What's wrong?' Harry asked, not understanding why he had to run.

'It's Ron… he… And he was… Not doing… And then Remus…,' Hermione said, still out of breath.

'I don't understand a word of it. Please tell me what is going on, and now calmly,' Harry said and he made sure that Hermione remained her place so she couldn't run away again with him.

Hermione took a deep breath and then she told her story. She was absolutely not calm, but she managed to make whole sentences at least.

'After class, I was in the corridor with Ron, to make a long story short; Ron kissed me, Remus saw it, Remus was furious and now they are together in a classroom and I have no idea what is happening,' Hermione said hastily.

'Oh, no, this is bad, Hermione. Come on, what are we waiting for?' Harry yelled and the two ran quickly to the third floor.

When they finally reached the room where their friend and professor were, Harry hesitated.

'I think you should go alone, Hermione,' Harry said.

'What? Why?' Hermione asked.

'They both would never hurt you. I, on the other hand, am not so sure if they are happy with me being there,' Harry said.

Hermione hadn't thought about this, it was not so stupid what Harry said. Both of the men in that room loved her, that is why they were there in first place. All of this wouldn't have happened if Hermione wasn't the reason for their fight.

'You right, Harry, I will go on my own,' Hermione said.

'Please be careful,' Harry said.

Hermione nodded and approached the door. She listened carefully if she could hear something, but there was no sound. She grabbed the handle and opened the door a little bit, afraid of what she would see. She was relieved when she realized that it was not as bad as she thought it would be in first place, but it certainly didn't look good. There was Ron, on the floor and against the wall, with Remus standing in front of him with clenched fists.

'Remus!' Hermione yelled and she ran quickly towards the two.

'Stay out of this, Hermione, I am going to make this boy pay for trying to kiss you. Don't worry, love, he won't try it again,' Remus said, his eyes not leaving Ron.

'No, no, don't hurt him, please! This is not you! Please,' Hermione begged and she laid her hand on Remus' arm.

'Why are you protecting him?' Remus demanded.

'Because he is my friend,' Hermione almost whispered.

'Not anymore. I have to make it very clear that this won't be tolerated. And I have to make sure that he won't tell anyone about what I am,' Remus growled softly.

'Ron would never tell anyone about you! He wouldn't! I trust him!' Hermione exclaimed, now standing between Ron and Remus.

'Hermione, even friends can't be trusted! Now get out of my way, dear,' Remus said calmly, but his eyes were threatening.

'Ron can be trusted and I will not get out of your way!' Hermione said and she tried to push Remus away from Ron.

'No one touches my mate,' Remus said, raising his voice a little bit which made Hermione wince. She wasn't used to this Remus. 'I've told you that I would do anything to protect you, I love you.'

Hermione saw that he meant what he said, so she relaxed a little bit.

'If you love me, then please leave Ron alone. I will sort this out, please,' Hermione said. 'I love you too.'

The next instant, Remus grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him. Then he kissed her gently on her lips. The gentleness surprised Hermione, considering how angry he was just a few moments ago, but she kissed him back passionately. Eventually, Remus broke the kiss.

'I will leave him alone this time, please make sure it won't happen again. I'm only doing this for you,' Remus said softly and with a last glare to Ron, he left the classroom.

'Ron, we need to talk,' Hermione said strictly, looking down at the trembling Ron on the floor.


	9. Chapter 9

After a couple of minutes, Ron was able to stand up and he was prepared to talk with Hermione. He had seen the kiss between her and Remus and it made him quite jealous. But he didn't want to argue about it with Hermione, he just had to win her trust. After that, he could think of a plan to get rid of their Defense teacher. It was nothing personal, but Ron just wanted Hermione for himself. And as long as Remus was still here, that was impossible.

'Why were you kissing me completely out of the blue while you knew that was dangerous? He could have killed you!' Hermione exclaimed while Ron sat down on a chair.

'Yes, yes, I know,' Ron said nonchalantly.

'I've warned you for this and you were just too stubborn to listen! You are unbelievable, Ronald!'

'Don't you like that about me?' Ron teased her.

'Stop flirting! I've had enough of this. If you are not going to accept that I am with Remus now, then maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore. Because clearly you can't just let me go,' Hermione said and she crossed her arms.

'No, you know that I don't want to break our friendship,' Ron said, and he rose up from his chair.

'Then you need to grow up.'

Suddenly the door burst open.

'Guys! What happened? Professor Lupin… Remus… He looked as though he was going to kill someone! Is everything alright?' Harry asked concerned.

'Yes, we are alright, I'm just trying to reason right now,' Hermione said, still with her arms crossed.

'Good, I was afraid that you… never mind,' Harry said.

'If you don't want to break our friendship, then I suggest that you try to act normally around me,' Hermione said.

'Alright! Just forget about it!' Ron exclaimed.

'If you two will excuse me, I'm going to see Remus,' Hermione said and she turned to the door.

'I'm not going to give up that easily,' Ron murmured so that Hermione and Harry couldn't hear him clearly.

'What did you say?' Hermione asked.

'Nothing! Just go!' Ron said and he said down on the chair again.

Hermione left the room, leaving Harry and Ron behind. She didn't want to do this to one of her best friends, but Ron just had to see that she didn't love him that way.

* * *

When Hermione reached the door to Remus' office, she hesitated for a moment. She wasn't sure if Remus was still angry. She decided to knock on the door, knowing that Remus would never hurt her. There was no answer coming from the office, so Hermione entered the room without an invitation.

'Remus?' Hermione asked, looking around.

'Hermione!' a voice came and Remus walked towards Hermione as soon as he saw her.

'I am so sorry, can you forgive me?' Hermione asked directly.

'Yes, of course I can,' Remus said animatedly.

Hermione wondered why Remus was being so neutral about it, but then she saw that Remus was hiding something behind his back.

'What are you hiding from me?' Hermione questioned.

'Oh, this?' Remus asked and he showed his hands. In his right hand was a piece of parchment.

'Why are you hiding a piece of parchment from me?'

'Hermione! Don't you dare to talk about it like that! This is not just parchment,' Remus said a little bit offended.

'Then what is it?' Hermione asked curiously.

'It is… a map,' Remus said. When he saw the confused look on Hermione's face, he sighed. 'Look, I'll show you.'

He tapped with his wand on the map and said: 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'

Suddenly, the whole parchment was filled with ink and the ink formed some letters.

'Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present the Marauders Map?' Hermione read and she saw that Remus looked very excited.

'Yes! I thought that I would never see this again in my life! Until I found it somewhere in Filch' office, when I was looking for some extra feathers. I guess he never found out how it worked. I found it in a box titled 'extremely dangerous', so I wondered what was in it of course.'

'Yes… but, what is it?' Hermione asked, still not knowing what all this was about.

'It is a map from Hogwarts. It shows every room, corridor, secret passageway, and, most importantly, it shows everyone who is in this castle,' Remus said.

'That is amazing! How did you know how to use it?' Hermione wondered.

'I was one of the makers. You see, Moony, that's me. Prongs, that was Harry's father. And about the other two, I wanted to tell you about that now. Remember how I've mentioned that you can't trust your own friends?' Remus asked.

'Yes, I do,' Hermione answered.

'Well, these guys, they were my friends. One of them was the reason why Harry's father is dead. One of James' own friends had betrayed him by telling Voldemort, yes, I use that name, where he could find Lily and James. For a long time, I thought that Sirius Black was the traitor. You know, the one that recently escaped form Azkaban. But when I saw this map, I saw something remarkable and you must promise me not to tell anyone about this, alright?' Remus asked, suddenly strictly.

'Yes, I promise, please go on!' Hermione said.

'I saw someone who is supposed to be dead. One of my other friends at Hogwarts. Peter Pettigrew. I just saw him on this map, and then I realized that he must be the traitor! He isn't killed by Sirius, so Peter must have been the one who betrayed James!' Remus said triumphantly.

'And why is that good?' Hermione asked.

'That is not exactly good, but that means that Sirius is innocent! The whole ministry is just looking for the wrong guy!' Remus said.

'But that means that that Peter is guilty, doesn't that bother you at all then?' Hermione asked.

'Don't you understand? This means that one of my friends is back! I've lost everyone in one night, and now Sirius is back. I've already lost Peter, and he being a traitor won't change anything. But it's great to know that Sirius is innocent,' Remus said.

'And you've figured all of this out in the past fifteen minutes?'

'Yes!'

'So you are not angry anymore?' Hermione asked hesitantly.

'Of course not! I am too happy to let anything bother my good mood. Wait, there is more,' Remus said.

'What?'

'About Sirius, he is Harry's godfather. I've never told Harry, no one has ever told him. Sirius was in Azkaban, so no one really felt the urge to bother Harry with it. Besides, I doubt if Harry would have liked to hear that his godfather was a serial killer,' Remus said.

'Are you going to tell him?' Hermione asked.

'Not yet, I want to find Sirius first,' Remus said determined.

'But no one has ever seen him! You have no idea where he is!' Hermione contradicted.

'That's where you are wrong. Remember that I have been his friend for a very long time. I know things that the ministry doesn't know.'

'And that is?'

'Sirius can change himself into a dog. My friends became Animagi to make my werewolf times bearable. Sirius could change himself into a dog, Peter into a rat and James into a stag.'

'So, this means that you are going to leave Hogwarts?' Hermione asked worried.

'Of course not, silly, I would never leave you. I am sure that Sirius would come to Hogwarts. Knowing Sirius, he would want to go look for Harry or me.'

'Good, I was afraid that you were going to leave me,' Hermione said clearly relieved.

'Never, I could never leave you,' Remus said and he softly captured Hermione's lips with his.

'I wanted to ask you something,' Hermione said against his lips.

'Not now,' Remus whispered and he kissed her once again, now more hungrily.

Hermione pulled back again.

'Yes, now,' she said determined, but Remus pulled her back again.

'Don't tease me like this, love, I want you,' he said and he made sure that Hermione couldn't get away again.

'After I've asked you what I wanted to ask you,' Hermione said.

Remus sighed, but he didn't let go of Hermione.

'Alright then,' he said.

'Apologize to Ron,' Hermione said simply.

'What?'

'Apologize! You were acting like a child back there! He doesn't deserve that. I've talked to him and he feels bad about it. And I am sure you do too. Remus, you are not like this, I've never seen you so out of control before! It scares me and I want you to talk with Ron. I want you to apologize.'

'Hermione, I am sorry that I've lost my temper, but you have to know that Ron…' Remus began.

'No! Don't blame Ron, you are to blame as well. Stop being so childish and make things right!'

'Come on…' Remus tried again and he wanted to kiss Hermione once more, but she backed off and crossed her arms.

'Not until you've said sorry to Ron,' she said stubbornly.

Remus knew that he wasn't going to win this discussion. And he felt sorry about it as well. He knew that it was wrong.

'Okay, I will talk to him,' Remus gave in.

'You will?' Hermione asked surprised.

'Don't look so astonished, I feel bad about it as well. You're right, this was nothing like me, I need to apologize,' Remus said.

'Oh, I knew you would, I love you!' Hermione said relieved and she wrapped her arms around his neck. But when Remus was about to kiss her, she let go of him.

'No, I told you, not until you've talked to Ron,' Hermione said smiling.

Remus sighed again.

'Why do you have to be such a moment killer?' Remus said irritated, but when he saw the look on Hermione's face, he added: 'Alright, I'll go!'

And with that, Remus left his office to go and look for Ron.

* * *

**That was the ninth chapter! Let me know what you think! X**


	10. Chapter 10

'Sybil, can I please borrow Mr. Weasley for a second?' Remus asked. Ron was in class, he had Divination right now, but Remus thought that he could miss that. It was not a very important class to Remus' opinion.

'Yes, of course, Remus,' professor Trelawney said with her woolly voice.

Ron didn't look very happy, but he left the class. Remus waited for him outside.

'What do you want?' Ron asked rudely.

'Now that is no way to talk to your professor, is it? I wanted to have a talk,' Remus said. 'Would you like some tea?'

'No, thanks. I need to go back to class.'

'You can't really make me believe that you are eager to go back to that class,' Remus said, smiling a little.

Ron didn't know why Lupin wanted to talk to him, but he didn't trust it. He seemed just as calm and friendly as usual.

'What do you want?' Ron asked again, not really changing the tone in his voice.

'I've told you, I wanted to talk.'

'Then talk.'

'I'd really appreciate it if you would be a little bit more respectful towards me.'

'How could I? Half an hour ago you wanted to kill me and now you are asking me to be respectful? Don't be so stupid. I'm warning you, I have my wand with me, so I wouldn't try anything if I were you,' Ron said, grabbing his wand.

'Don't be silly, Ronald, we both know that I am better in dueling. That is not why I am here. I wanted to apologize,' Remus said calmly.

'I don't believe you. _Petrificus Tota….' _Ron said, but before he could finish his spell, Remus grabbed his own wand.

'_Expelliarmus!'_

Ron's wand flew through the air and Remus caught it.

'Now please hear me out,' Remus said.

'Give back my wand,' Ron commended.

To Ron's surprise, Remus did indeed give him back his wand.

'I am sorry for what happened earlier. I didn't mean to hurt you, or to scare you, I don't really know what I was thinking. I should have talked about it with you and I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I am sorry about that, I really am. I hope you can forgive me and that we can forget about this,' Remus said and he waited for Ron's reaction.

Ron watched his professor carefully, he didn't really trust him. Besides, Remus was the one who had Hermione right now and Ron was not going to accept that. He was going to make sure that the whole school would find out that there was a werewolf teaching at Hogwarts.

'Of course, I accept you apologies,' Ron said as neutral as he could. He didn't want to let Remus know that he still didn't trust him. It was important that Lupin trusted him, because that would make his plans a lot easier.

'Thank you, this makes me feel better,' Remus said truthfully.

'I should go back to class,' Ron said grudgingly.

'Are you sure?'

Ron thought about it for an instant. He could skip his class right now, but that would mean that he had to come along with Remus. But Divination wasn't that great either. Although in class he still had Harry, which made it a lot better.

'Yes, I'm sure, I really need to follow this class. I already have problems with Divination,' Ron said and he turned back to the classroom.

Back in class, Ron didn't pay much attention to what professor Trelawney had to say. It wasn't that interesting, he supposed. His mind was elsewhere. He was thinking of a way to keep Remus away from Hermione. Therefore, he needed the help of someone else. He didn't want to get into a fight with Remus himself. He needed someone who wanted to reveal Remus' secret so that he didn't have to do it himself. But where was he going to find someone like that? Harry wouldn't do such a thing. Harry would never want to reveal Remus' secret.

* * *

After class, Ron went outside, just to get some fresh air. He sat down on a bench and picked up his book about werewolves, which he had borrowed from the library. Maybe there was something in it that he could use against Remus, something that would expose Remus' secret even without Ron's assistance. Suddenly Ron felt that someone sat down next to him. It was a man, he was short and he looked rather dirty. Ron had never seen him before in his life.

'Who are you?' he asked.

'Doesn't matter for now. Why are you reading that book? Do you know something?' the little man asked.

'I don't… Why do you want to know? You don't even know me!' Ron said, he looked around to see if someone saw the two, but there was no one outside. It was probably too cold for most students.

'Trust me, I know you better than you can possibly imagine. Back to my question, what do you know about werewolves? Do you know one?' the man asked again.

'As a matter of fact, yes, I do. But I want to know who you are, you are just coming out of the blue and now you're talking about werewolves. Why exactly do you want to know?' Ron asked curiously. He didn't fully trust the man. How could he? He had never seen him before.

'I think I know who the werewolf is you know. And I also think that you don't like him,' the man said.

'You may be right about that,' Ron answered.

'I think I might be able to help you. Because I want to get rid of that werewolf in question as well, for personal reasons,' the man said with an unpleasant smile.

'Tell me who you are!' Ron said, now getting a little bit impatient.

'You can call me Peter.'

'Well, Peter, I am not sure whether I can trust you or not, you know? So please leave me alone so that I can take care of my own business,' Ron said and he wanted to walk away, but Peter stopped him.

'Listen, Ron, I know that you want to have Remus Lupin out of your way. So do I. I have my own reasons for that, but I assure you that you can trust me on this,' Peter said.

'You know my name? You know professor Lupin? Who the hell are you?' Ron demanded.

'You'll find out soon enough. So, what do you say?' Peter asked.

'We can certainly try to work together, I suppose,' Ron said hesitantly.

'Good. So do you already have a plan?'

'No, I was just thinking about a way to reveal Lupin's secret, so that he is forced to leave Hogwarts,' Ron answered.

'What if I knew the perfect way to do exactly that?'

'Are you serious? What are you thinking of?'

'I'm going to spread the news. Anonymously.'

What they didn't know, was that someone else was listening.

* * *

'And? Did you say sorry?' Hermione asked as Remus had returned to his office.

'Yes, and he said that he accepted my apologies, although I don't really know if he trusts me anymore,' Remus answered.

'I think it is great that you've apologized,' Hermione said.

'And I think it is great that you are still here,' Remus said, kissing Hermione's cheek lightly.

'Yes, I've made you a promise. And I never break my promises,' Hermione giggled, enjoying the kisses on her cheek.

'And I love you for that,' Remus said, looking for Hermione's lips. His hands were now drawing circles on Hermione's back. His kiss became somewhat rougher and more demanding.

Suddenly Remus pulled back and he signed that Hermione had to be silent. He had heard something at the door. Someone was behind the door. He pointed at it to make clear what was happening towards Hermione, and then he approached the door carefully. When his hand was on the handle, he grabbed his wand and kept it ready in front of him, in case the eavesdropper would attack. He drew the door open very quickly and pointed his wand at the man in front of him, but he lowered his wand as soon as he saw who it was.

'Sirius?' Remus asked surprised.

'Remus!' Sirius exclaimed and the two men hugged each other as though they were two lost brothers who had finally found each other after years.

'Uhm, this is Hermione… my uhm…' Remus said, but Sirius made a sign that he didn't have to explain.

'Yes, I know who she is. Nice to meet you, Hermione,' Sirius said and Hermione gave him a smile, not really knowing what she had to do else.

'You have no idea how great it is to see you again! I'm sorry I didn't believe you all this time, but you need to know that I…' Remus said, but again, Sirius cut him off.

'I know, you don't have to apologize, I have been suspecting you as well for a very long time. Until… well… until Peter… That is why I am here. Peter. He is here, at the castle. But you already know that, I suppose?' Sirius asked, glancing at the Marauders Map that was still on Remus' desk. When Remus nodded, Sirius continued. 'Peter is a servant of Voldemort, he can't be trusted. But you certainly knew that as well. I've seen Peter, he was talking about you. With another boy, red hair, tall, he looked like a Weasley, but I am not sure.'

'Ron?' Hermione exclaimed.

'That's it! Peter used his name, yes, Ron. They were talking about something, and I had to warn you,' Sirius said.


	11. Chapter 11

'So… so Peter wants to reveal my secret? And Ron too?' Remus asked.

Sirius only nodded.

'That little rat! How is that possible! I felt sorry for him, all those years! And know he just…' Remus said frustrated, but he couldn't finish his words.

'I know, I know how you feel, and I want to help you. But I can't be seen,' Sirius said, he was obviously disappointed by the fact that he couldn't just run around being himself.

'Yes, that is true, and I don't blame you,' Remus said.

'I… I want to help you, Remus,' Hermione said softly, it was almost a whisper. She couldn't believe that Ron was conspiring against Remus together with that traitor. 'I am sure I can reason Ron.'

'No, telling Ron about what you know would only make things worse. Ron wouldn't tell everyone about your secret, Remus, he is frightened. We just need to catch Pettigrew,' Sirius said determined.

'So, we can use the Map?' Remus suggested.

'Wait, why did Peter want the help of Ron? He must have a reason to involve Ron in this, otherwise he would have done this on his own,' Sirius said, thinking very hard.

'Maybe he needs him to get him into the castle?' Hermione suggested.

'No, he can turn himself into a rat, remember? He doesn't need anyone. I am afraid that Peter is trying to win Ron's trust for something else. Something that he is going to use against one of use later,' Sirius said.

'That's not relevant right now. We need to find him and quickly. If we find him, then he can't do anything anymore. We can bring him to the ministry and then your name will be cleared,' Remus said.

'Right, let's see where our old friend it then,' Sirius said. 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'

'He's not in the courtyard anymore, where you said he was,' Remus said. 'And neither is Ron.'

'Harry Potter?' Sirius said suddenly when he looked at the Gryffindor Common Room. 'That is… that is James' son! My godson! I've been waiting all those years to finally meet him!'

'I know, Sirius, but not know, you'll scare the living daylights out of him. He still thinks you're a serial killer, remember?' Remus reminded Sirius.

'Oh, yes…' Sirius said disappointedly.

'Here he is!' Hermione suddenly yelled. Both Sirius and Remus jumped with fright. 'Sorry,' Hermione added quickly.

The three looked at the map and they saw a fast moving figure named 'Peter Pettigrew' on the map. He was running from the main courtyard to the Clock Tower.

'I'm going to get him, yes, in my dog form, and yes, I'll be careful,' Sirius said, looking at the worried faces from Remus and Hermione.

'And then? You can't just transform back somewhere in the castle,' Hermione stated.

'You're right, I'll bring him here, then we can both have a little bit of fun with that rat,' Sirius said.

Hermione and Remus nodded in agreement and then Sirius became a dog again. Remus opened the door for him and when Sirius was gone, he closed it again carefully.

'So… while we are waiting for Padfoot to return, shall we finish what we've started earlier this hour?' Remus proposed.

'I don't like that naughty grin on your face, Mr. Lupin,' Hermione said, walking into Remus' arms.

'Yes, you do,' Remus said with a very low voice. He knew that Hermione liked that, she thought that his low voice was manly and sexy.

'You're asking for it,' Hermione said and she pushed Remus down on his chair. That was her sort of payback for Remus, because she knew he wanted to be in charge. He always was the dominant one.

Hermione sat down on his lap, so he couldn't get away that easily. Then she grabbed his arms so he couldn't do anything.

'Don't do this to me!' Remus begged. 'Come on, we don't have that much time… Let me go!'

Hermione didn't let go of him, although she knew that Remus would win sooner or later. She liked teasing him, however.

'Hermione…' Remus groaned, but Hermione didn't let go of him, she kissed Remus on his lips and that was where he lost it indeed.

Remus wrestled his arms out of Hermione's grip and he stood up from the chair, carrying Hermione in his arms. He gently laid her down on the couch and he hang over her so she couldn't get away.

'How dare you teasing me like that,' he said, his voice sounded sweat and threatening at the same time, which was exactly what Hermione liked. She started to get rid of his clothes and Remus started to do the same thing with Hermione.

Waiting for Sirius wasn't that bad.

* * *

After fifteen minutes, there was a knock on the door. Remus walked towards the door and opened it, so that Sirius could enter his office. He had a rat in one hand.

'I've used a spell on him, so he couldn't turn back into his human form. May I?' Sirius asked, taking his wand and aiming it on the rat.

'My pleasure,' Remus gestured to the rat, taking his own wand out.

Sirius mumbled a spell and the rat transformed into a little man. Even in his human form, he still looked remarkably much like a rat.

'Remus? Sirius? I am so glad to see you both!' Peter exclaimed, he clearly did his very best to pretend that he was happy to see his old friends.

'Don't give us that rubbish, Peter, we both know what you are,' Sirius said calmly.

'I didn't have a choice! He would have killed me!' Peter said, now more frightened.

'Then you should have died! We would never betray our friends, even if it would mean our own death! You are a coward,' Remus said angrily.

'Easy guys, be a little bit nicer,' Peter said.

'I won't be nicer to you, I will make you pay for those twelve years of Azkaban and for the death of James and Lily!' Sirius snapped.

'You will be nicer to me. You can't hurt me. If you do, you will never see that Weasley boy again alive,' Peter said calmly.

'Don't be pathetic, Peter. You and Ron are plotting this together, you two wanted to expose my secret,' Remus said.

'Yes, I did. And I still want to tell everyone about you to make sure that you won't tell anyone about the fact that I am still alive. No one would believe a werewolf or a criminal,' Peter sneered.

'What have you done to Ron?' Hermione demanded.

'Well, well, the girl can speak too. I should silence you as well. Nothing personal, don't worry, but I have to make sure that you won't tell everyone about me, of course,' Peter said and he stepped towards Hermione. Before he could reach her, Remus stepped in front of Hermione.

'You won't touch her with one finger, Pettigrew,' Remus said with a low, menacing tone of voice.

'Your choice, but then is Ron Weasley already dead, your choice,' Peter said.

Hermione looked very worried now. She didn't want Ron to be in trouble, how stupid he may have been for trusting Peter, he was still her friend. But why did he want to tell everyone about Remus? Remus had apologized, right? Why couldn't Ron just let it go? Then none of this would have happened. But still, Hermione didn't want Ron to be in trouble. He didn't deserve that.

'What have you done to Ron?' Hermione asked again, now a little bit louder.

'Just a simple spell. He can't leave the place where he is right now until I have spoken the counter curse. Only I can get him out. And if someone hurts me, then Ron will feel the same pain. So, you either let me erase the girls memory, or Ron will not get away,' Peter said with an evil smirk on his face.

'Well, considering that Ron has been a stupid fool, I don't think that it will be hard to choose between the options,' Remus said. 'You are not getting Hermione.'

'No! Remus! You can't just let Ron stay wherever he is! He might be in danger!' Hermione exclaimed, she tried to push Remus away so she could face Peter. Remus refused to let her pass, however.

'I am not letting this rat anywhere near to you, Hermione, forget it!' Remus said determined, and Hermione gave up trying to push Remus out of her way.

'Please… Please, Remus… Sirius?' Hermione asked as she looked hopefully at the other man.

But Sirius shook his head.

'I don't know that Ron, all I know is that he has betrayed Remus by trusting this rat. Therefore, he has betrayed you as well. That boy can't be trusted,' Sirius said resolutely.

'Then Ron stays where he is. I'm afraid he doesn't have that much time left,' Peter sneered and then he transformed into a rat once more. Before they knew what happened, Peter had left the office.

Hermione threw herself in Remus' arms and started to cry.

'I can't believe you are letting Ron down!' she sobbed.

'Don't worry, I am not. We will find him,' Remus said, rubbing Hermione's back.

'You… you… how? I thought you hated him?' Hermione asked, looking up with her eyes filled with tears.

'He's been an idiot, but I can see how much he means to you. We will get him back,' he said determinately.

Sirius looked as if he could not believe what just happened, but he nodded as well. He couldn't do much, but he was prepared to help his friends.

* * *

**Don't worry, Ron is not a bad guy! Please review :) **


	12. Chapter 12

'Shouldn't we look for Peter first?' Sirius suggested.

'No! We have to make sure that Ron is okay! We don't know what can happen to him!' Hermione said. She was slightly panicked.

'Calm down, Hermione. Don't you think that we should stop Peter from telling the whole school about Remus first?' Sirius asked calmly. 'He said that he was going to make sure that everyone would know.'

'Come on, Padfoot, you know Peter. He is a coward. He doesn't even dare to show himself in the public, afraid that people would recognize him. Then people would also know that you are innocent and then his cover would be gone. He is just trying to scare us off with his empty threats,' Remus said, he saw that Hermione gave him a thankful look.

'So we are going to find Ron first?' Hermione asked.

The two men nodded in agreement and they opened their map once again.

'Can you see him?' Sirius asked.

'No,' Hermione said disappointed. 'Does that mean that he is not in the castle?'

'I don't see Peter either. He can't have gone out of the castle this quickly,' Remus said, deep in thoughts.

'But if he is in the castle, then he would be shown on the map, right?' Hermione asked again.

'The map never lies,' Sirius said. 'So he must be out of this castle.'

'Not necessarily…' Remus said absentmindedly.

Both Sirius and Hermione looked at him in confusion.

'We've made this map. That doesn't mean that it shows every room in the castle. We knew a lot, but not everything. Remember the Chamber of Secrets? It wasn't on the map either. And I've heard something about a room on the seventh floor…' Remus said.

'You may be right. But I would be surprised if there was a secret room at Hogwarts that we don't know about. Apart from the Chamber of Secrets, I mean. But how were we supposed to know about that? We are no parselmouths,' Sirius said.

'There is another room, believe it or not. The seventh floor. The Room of Requirement. It only appears when you are desperately in need of something. It is not always there, that is why it isn't on our map, remember? We have been there, but we couldn't put it on our map because it wasn't really there!' Remus said.

Sirius sighed in relief.

'So that means that it isn't on the map because we didn't know about it? Good. I was getting worried that we were failures,' Sirius said.

'How are we going to find Ron if that room doesn't exist?' Hermione exclaimed frustrated, ignoring Sirius completely.

'The Room of Requirement only appears when you really need it. So I suppose that it will appear when we all are desperately thinking of Ron and that we need to find him,' Remus said.

'Maybe Peter is there as well,' Sirius said.

'I hope for him that he isn't. I am going to kill that guy as soon as I get my hands on him,' Remus growled.

'Well, what are we waiting for? We need to get Ron!' Hermione yelled and she sprinted out of the office before the two men could even blink.

'I'll stay here, I guess… I can't really walk around, not even in my dog form. It's not that usual at Hogwarts to see a random dog walking through the corridors,' Sirius said, clearly frustrated by the fact that he couldn't just come with Remus and Hermione.

Remus, however, understood and he nodded. Then he quickly went after Hermione.

* * *

'So… Here it is?' Hermione asked.

'Yes, I am sure,' Remus answered.

Both Hermione and Remus were thinking of Ron the best they could, and suddenly a door appeared in the wall. Hermione wanted to run through the door, but Remus held her back.

'No, I'll go first. We don't know what is in there. It could be dangerous,' he said sternly.

'But I…' Hermione tried, but Remus gave her a strict look which made Hermione shut up.

Remus pulled out his wand and approached the wooden door carefully, closely followed by an exited Hermione. He pressed against the door lightly, so that the door would open very slowly. Then Remus looked carefully in the room, to see if there was anyone. It was awfully silent in there. It didn't feel good. The two walked further into the room and looked around for Ron.

It was a very large room, with almost no light. There was a very small window from where the little light came. The room was almost completely empty, except for a small table on the other side and a few wooden chairs. All together it gave a creepy impression.

'Remus?' Hermione asked hesitantly, but Remus signed that she had to be silent. He could hear something, but he couldn't see where the sound came from. He walked towards the source of the sound and found that there was a big cage in the far corner.

'Ron?' Remus asked carefully. There was a sound again, like someone was shifting.

'Peter?' the voice of Ron came, he sounded angry. 'Are you going to tell me why I am here yet, or do I have to be here for another couple of hours?'

'We are not Peter,' Hermione now said.

'Hermione!' Ron called in relief. 'Thank God! I've been here for almost three hours! And I am thirsty! Where is…'

But Ron couldn't finish his sentence. Behind Hermione, a man appeared. It was Peter, he had been there the whole time, in his rat form.

'Are you looking for me?' Peter sneered and then he grabbed Hermione from behind. She dropped her wand in surprise and her face went pale in fright.

'Let go of her,' Ron demanded angrily. 'Tell me why I am here!'

'You were just the bait. You can't get out of that cage, if you try, then you will die. Now here is the deal… DROP YOUR WAND!' Peter yelled suddenly when Remus pointed his wand at him.

Remus did as Peter told him to, he was too afraid that something would happen to Hermione. Peter may be a coward, but he was not stupid. Far from. He was also dangerous. Remus believed that Peter was capable of hurting Hermione when he had to.

'Good… Now… I'll tell you what I want. I just want to make sure that neither of you is going to tell the world about me. Now that Sirius is free, my cover is useless. So I want you to swear to me that you won't tell anyone. All of you. With an unbreakable vow,' Peter said, still holding Hermione with a firm grip.

'We would never do such a thing,' Remus dared Peter.

'So you want me to kill your little girl?' Peter snapped.

'You wouldn't kill her. I know that. You can't. You are, again, making empty threats,' Remus said with a strong voice, he sounded more confident than he felt. But he had to do something, otherwise Sirius would never be free. But he didn't want Hermione to be in danger either.

Ron held his breath. He looked terrified as Remus took one step closer to Peter and Hermione, he was afraid that Peter would really kill Hermione. How on earth could Remus know that Peter wouldn't kill her? He could never be sure about that! This was too dangerous.

'I'll do it! I'll do the unbreakable vow, just leave Hermione alone!' Ron shouted.

'Good lad. Now you two… Remus?' Peter asked, looking at Remus.

'Do you really think that you can fool me with this?' Remus asked, taking another step closer.

'I swear that I will kill her if you don't back off! I've killed before!' Peter said, tightening his grip on Hermione.

'And what when you have killed her? Then what? Then you are powerless. You know that. And you are just too selfish to risk your own life, too cowardly,' Remus growled, taking another step closer.

Now there was a little trace of fright on Peter's face. He clearly hadn't thought about that part yet. His wand was somewhere far away, he hadn't seen it in ages. All that time he had been a rat. He knew what Remus was.

'I'm warning you, back off, or your girl will pay the price!' Peter shouted.

Remus let out a low growl, which made Peter wince.

'Back off, you filthy werewolf!' Peter commanded again.

'You are not allowed to threaten me, and you are certainly not allowed to threaten my mate. You will regret this, Peter. This will be the last mistake you'll ever make. One more chance to let her go…' Remus said with dangerously flashing eyes.

Peter didn't let go of Hermione. Remus saw that he was struggling with himself, he just didn't know what to do. While Peter was still arguing with himself, Remus felt himself becoming furious. He had to protect his mate. He had to kill the man who was threatening her. He felt the wolf taking over and before he knew what was happening, he jumped towards Peter and grabbed him, so that they fell on the floor together.

Hermione took a step back and watched Remus being in a fight. She knew that she didn't have to help with her magic, Remus would win this anyway. She saw that his eyes were almost entirely yellow, which meant that he was really angry. He was even more angry than he was with Ron. Remus punched Peter over and over until his knuckles were bleeding.

He didn't want to stop. He couldn't stop until the man was dead. He was the reason for James' and Lily's death. He was the reason for those twelve years of Azkaban. He had been threatening his mate. He had no right. Therefore, he had to die. He didn't deserve to live. He could smell the blood. Peter was now begging for him to stop, but he didn't. He felt bones breaking under his fists. He kept hitting the man beneath him until there was no sign of life anymore.

Remus quickly got off Peter, suddenly realizing what he had done. His face was white and he was breathing very heavily. Then he looked at Hermione, who was pale as well. She was shocked. No, she was frightened. Of him? Did she fear him? Of course she did now, she must think that he was a completely insane monster. Which he was. Sometimes.

'Is he… he is… have you?' Hermione wasn't able to bring out a whole sentence.

Remus looked away from her and then he carefully felt the wrist of Peter, looking for a pulse. There wasn't a pulse. He really had killed him. While it wasn't even full moon.

'I think I… He is… dead…' Remus brought out and then he let himself sank down to the floor.

* * *

**The twelfth chapter! Let me know what you think! I am sorry, it was a little bit cruel, but I felt that Peter kinda deserved it (do I sound bad now?). I never really liked that guy. Ron is going to be okay! Don't worry, he will get out :p**

**X**


	13. Chapter 13

'I've killed an old friend… I couldn't… control it…' Remus whispered, while Hermione sat down next to him and she placed her hand gently on Remus' shoulder. But Remus shook her off.

'No… you shouldn't be with me, it's too dangerous,' he said softly, his eyes filled with tears.

'Don't be ridiculous, Remus! Look at me,' Hermione demanded and when Remus looked her in the eyes, she said softly: 'I love you. I still do.'

'You can't mean that, not after what happened,' Remus said, but he saw in Hermione's eyes that she did mean it.

'I do mean it, and you know that! And about Peter, you don't really feel sorry for him, do you? You may have been a little bit too hard on him, but maybe he did deserve this,' Hermione said carefully.

'That's not the point! I've lost my control! Something I swore to myself I would never do! If I can't control myself, then that means that I am still dangerous and not human!' Remus exclaimed.

'Don't say that! It's completely normal for a human to lose his temper from time to time,' Hermione said.

'Not like this! I've already gone too far with Ron, and I swore to myself that something like that would never happen again! And here I am, blood on my hands, with a dead old friend next to me on the floor,' Remus said and now tears were slowly running down his cheeks.

'It will be alright, Remus, come,' Hermione said and she stood up, offering Remus her hand. Remus hesitated for a moment, but then he took her hand as softly as he could, afraid to hurt her. He stood up as well and then Hermione wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

'I don't blame you… Peter had gone too far and you gave him the chance to let me go… It is not your fault,' Hermione whispered.

'You keep saying that, but it partly is my fault. I am the one who has murdered him, after all,' Remus said, laying down his head on Hermione's shoulder. That calmed him a little bit down.

Ron was watching the whole scene from his cage. He felt a little bit guilty, this was partly his fault. He shouldn't have trusted Peter in first place. All just because he wanted to reveal Remus' secret to have Hermione for his own. He couldn't help feeling a little bit jealous when he saw Hermione in Remus' arms. He wanted her to be in his arms instead.

'We should get Ron out of there,' Hermione said and Ron was glad that she hadn't forgotten about him. Hermione walked towards the cage to open it.

'NO!' Remus shouted suddenly, so that both Hermione and Ron jumped in surprise.

'What?' Hermione asked.

'That cage is cursed, of course. Otherwise it would have been too easy for us to open it. Peter was never that clever at school, but he certainly isn't stupid. I think that if we try to open the cage, Ron will die,' Remus said.

'But… Peter said also something about… He said that… that we couldn't hurt him, because then Ron would feel the same pain!' Hermione said and her eyes went wide open.

'No… I know what you think, but Ron won't die. I know the spell Peter was talking about, and I also know that Peter would never be able to produce such a spell. It is highly advanced dark magic, Peter is too inexperienced with magic to produce that spell. However, I do believe that he could do some dark magic on the cage, but… where is his wand then?' Remus thought aloud.

'He has used mine,' Ron said softly.

'Then where is it?' Remus asked impatiently.

'Somewhere here… I don't know…' he answered.

'_Accio wand_!' Hermione said and a wand came flying towards her.

Hermione handed over the wand to Remus with a curious look on her face.

'Now let's see what kind of spell he has used… _Prior Incantato!' _Remus said and with a flick of his own wand, a symbol appeared in the air.

'What kind of spell is that?' Hermione asked.

'I hoped that you would know,' Remus answered.

'How am I supposed to know?' Hermione asked.

'I was just joking… It definitely is dark magic, I don't know much about it. We should look it up in the library,' Remus said.

'Do you honestly think that you can find this in the library?'

'Not just in the library. But we can find it in the Restricted Section,' Remus said.

'I am not allowed in there,' Hermione said disappointed.

'But I am,' Remus said. 'And I am sure I can take you with me if I ask madam Pince.'

'Okay, then. The quicker the better. Let's go,' Hermione said and she took Remus' hand. 'We'll be back as soon as possible, Ron!'

'Thanks, Hermione,' Ron said softly. 'Thank you, professor.'

'You're welcome, Ronald,' Remus replied.

Then Hermione ran towards the door and she took Remus with her. There was no time to lose, if they didn't know what kind of spell this was, then it could be very dangerous.

* * *

'Remus Lupin, how good to see you again,' Madam Pince said as she saw Remus. 'And Hermione, good to see you too. It's been a long time since I have seen you last here in the library, Remus.'

'Yes, that must be like 23 years ago at least,' Remus replied. 'However, that is not why I am here, I would like to visit the Restricted Section.'

'Of course, you're a teacher, you don't even have to ask me for permission,' Madam Pince said.

'I know, but I would like to take Miss Granger with me too,' Remus said.

'I'm sorry, but students are not allowed there without a note,' Pince said strictly.

'Then give me a note, then I can sign it,' Remus said irritated. Madam Pince handed him a form and Remus signed it quickly.

'Really, what was the point of that?' Hermione asked, which resulted in a glare from Madam Pince.

'Those are the rules, Miss Granger, I thought you would understand that,' she snapped.

'Yes, I understand, but I just can't see why we should…' Hermione argued again, but Remus laid his hand on her shoulder to silence her.

'There is no need to argue about this, Miss Granger, it's useless. Let's just go,' he said and he pushed her lightly towards the Restricted Section.

When the two reached the forbidden part of the library, Hermione took Remus' hand, after looking around of somebody saw them.

'I've never been here before… It's exciting. Have you ever been here?' Hermione asked him.

'Officially, no. But of course I have been here before, under James' cloak of invisibility. I was just too curious, so I went to have a look. But I discovered that the books here can be dangerous, some of them are trying to bite you, some of them are able to curse you, some of them could even kill you when you are not careful,' Remus answered Hermione.

'Then I'd better stay close to you,' Hermione said and she kissed his cheek. 'You will protect me, won't you?'

'Of course, my dear,' Remus answered and he kissed her lightly back on the lips. Then he opened the door to the Restricted Section and made some light with his wand.

'Can I ask you something?' Hermione whispered, there was no need to whisper, but she did it automatically in this silent part of the castle. Remus nodded so Hermione continued her question. 'Why do you want to help Ron?'

'Because I feel that that is the right thing to do. I've made my apologies and as a teacher, I feel that I have to help my student,' he said simply.

'But, he tried to get you expelled!'

'I was not that nice to him either. Now I feel like we are even. He will get detention, but that doesn't mean that I am going to let him die in the Room of Requirement,' Remus said smiling reassuringly.

'It's good that you have forgiven him,' Hermione said.

'I just hope that he will do the same. As long as he keeps his hands off you, that is,' Remus said, with a flash of jealousy in his eyes.

'Don't worry about that, we've been through this. I am yours, remember? Ron is just a good friend.'

'Of course,' Remus said and he kissed her forehead. 'I love you, Hermione.'

'I love you too,' Hermione whispered, but she pushed him away gently when he was about to deepen the kiss. 'We need to find that spell!'

'Yes, of course… Let me think,' Remus said concentrated and he looked into the titles.

He was looking for books about Dark Magic, especially for the ones about curses with which you could constrain people. Remus knew that Peter would never be able to produce an extremely difficult spell, he didn't even have his own wand. He picked up a random book and started to study the spells. Then his eye fell on something, it was the symbol he saw earlier. His eyes grew wide.

'Hermione… I think I've found something…'

'What is it? How can we free Ron?' Hermione asked eagerly.

'We can't… Well, we can, but it won't be easy… Peter has been smarter than I thought,' Remus answered, showing Hermione the book. Her face went pale as she read the page.

'But, we need to free him! We have to!' Hermione exclaimed panicked.


	14. Chapter 14

'We can save him in time, right?' Hermione asked, now very worried.

'Well, I guess we can. We only have twenty hours before Ron will actually die. We can't open the cage, then we would die as well. Here is the only way to abolish the curse, we need to make a potion,' Remus said, pointing at the recipe.

'All we need are those ingredients and then we can just make that potion,' Hermione said.

'No, Hermione, that's the point. This is an extremely difficult potion, I am not able to make that in twenty hours. Neither are you,' he said when Hermione opened her mouth.

'But then we are lost. Damn that Peter…' Hermione murmured more to herself.

'Peter could have freed Ron, only the person who has produced the curse can lift it without a problem. This is all my fault, I shouldn't have killed that guy…' Remus said dejectedly.

'No, no, we are going to make that potion!' Hermione said determined.

'We can't. Not with this little time,' Remus said softly.

'But… There must be something we can do,' Hermione suggested.

'You're right. I know someone who can actually make this potion in twenty minutes…' Remus said, but he didn't sound happier.

'Who?' Hermione demanded.

'Severus. Professor Snape.'

'Let's go then! We need to hurry!'

'I guess we don't have a choice…' Remus sighed and he followed Hermione out after quickly making a copy of the book.

* * *

'Please, Severus. It is very important,' Remus begged.

'You know that I am not very eager to help you, right?' Snape said with an unpleasant grin.

'Please, professor, we need that potion!' Hermione tried.

'And why is that exactly, Granger?' Snape asked.

'We can't tell you. All we ask from you is that potion,' Remus said.

'I know what kind of potion this is. I am not stupid. Tell me, who's in danger?' Snape asked.

'Doesn't matter! Just hurry up!' Hermione exclaimed.

'Now that's no way to talk to your teacher, Miss Granger. I suggest you shut your mouth before I give you detention,' Snape sneered.

Remus glared at Snape, but he decided not to argue with him. He had to make sure that Snape would make this potion.

'Listen, Severus. I know that you have the ingredients and I know that you can make this potion. You are the only one I know who is able to make this without problems.'

'And the one who has produced the curse? He can lift it. Why don't you address him?'

'He is dead.'

'That means that they must have died in less than four hours ago. You've got something to do with this, am I right? Who did this spell?' Snape demanded.

'You wouldn't believe the answer,' Remus said firmly.

'Try me.'

'Alright. It was Peter Pettigrew.'

'That can't be. He has died a long time ago,' Snape said confused. 'Stop joking and tell me the truth!'

'It is the truth and now please start on that potion before it is too late!' Remus said frustrated.

'Alright then, but you owe me. I don't know how you can pay me back yet, but I will think of something later, trust me,' Snape sneered and he started to gather some ingredients directly.

* * *

Ten hours later, Snape added the last ingredient. Remus was just waiting on a couch with Hermione against his shoulder, who was fast asleep. The fluffy atmosphere had made her very tired. Snape looked at the two suspiciously, but he decided to ignore them and to focus on the potion. Remus only gave the potion master an innocent look.

'It's ready,' Snape said after another hour. Hermione woke up suddenly.

'It is? That is so quick!' Hermione said.

'Thank you, Severus, you don't know how much I appreciate this,' Remus said relieved.

'Before I give you this, there is something you must know about it. There is a possible side effect for the one who drinks it. No, the book doesn't mention it,' Snape added when Remus wanted to have a look at the copy. 'The drinker may become very quick to take offence and therefore aloof.'

'Is that it?' Remus asked nervously.

'For as far as I know, yes. I don't think that the side effect will last forever, though. But the severity of the side effect depends much on the kind of person who drinks this,' Snape said with an evil grin.

'Yes, I get it. Thanks again, Severus,' Remus said and he left Snape's office together with Hermione. What the two didn't know, was that Snape followed them in order to find out what they were trying to hide from him.

Once outside, Hermione gave Remus a worried look. She knew that one of them had to drink the potion, they couldn't give it to Ron without touching the cage. Either Hermione or Remus had to drink it in order to open the cage.

'I'll drink it,' Hermione offered.

'No, I don't want you to! What if the side effect is going to turn out much worse than Snape said?' Remus said.

'I don't care! I'm not letting you drink this! You already have problems with your temper, I am not allowing you to make that worse,' Hermione said determined.

'I don't have problems with…' but Remus stopped when he saw Hermione's look. 'You're right. But I am just worried about you, that's all.'

'I promise, I won't lose my temper around you. Not around anyone,' Hermione said.

'You can say that now, but you can't know that for sure,' Remus said worried.

'Don't you argue with me, Remus Lupin! I am taking this potion and you are not going to stop me,' Hermione said stubbornly. She walked quickly to the Room of Requirement and there she waited for a moment.

'I am sure about this Remus. I love you and I will still love you after this potion,' Hermione promised and then she drank the content of the flask. She made a face because of the terrible taste of it, but then she looked up again.

'You see? I'm fine. Now let's go and get Ron before it is too late for him,' Hermione said and she walked through the door with Remus following her closely.

'Ron?' Hermione asked carefully? 'Ron? We are here, don't worry, I am going to free you.'

There was no answer. Hermione walked over to where the cage was, she couldn't see Ron there. She hesitated for a moment, but then she touched the cage carefully. The cage seemed to melt at her touch, as though she was fire on iron. Hermione melted a very big part of the cage away, so that she could enter it. There, in the far corner, was Ron.

'Remus?' Hermione asked worried. 'Remus, come here!'

Remus came into the cage as quickly as he could and then he saw Ron too.

'Why isn't he moving? He isn't…' Hermione said carefully, not wanting to finish her words.

'No, he is not. _Enervate,' _Remus tried, but Ron still didn't move.

'Then what is wrong with him?' Hermione asked.

'He has been here for quite some time, he is just weakened. We have to get him out of here quickly. I'll take him to my office,' Remus said and he easily lifted Ron's body up. He carefully dragged him out of the cage, so that they wouldn't touch the bars.

Hermione walked in front of Remus, to lead the way and to make sure that they wouldn't be seen by some students or other professors. That would only cause them annoying questions and they couldn't have that right now. When Hermione wanted to walk to the main staircase, Remus cleared his throat.

'No that way,' he said.

'This is the only way to the third floor,' Hermione said, wondering why Remus had forgotten that.

'I am not a Marauder for nothing, Hermione. I know a quicker way,' he said and he gave her a wink. Then Hermione followed him to a statue somewhere in the corner of the corridor on the seventh floor.

'And?' Hermione asked, waiting for Remus to do something.

'As you can see, I have my hands full. Could you tap on the statue three times and then say _scurrilous scoundrel_,' Remus whispered.

'Are you serious?' Hermione asked but then she saw that he was serious and she grabbed her wand. Then she tapped on the statue and gave it the password Remus had given her. The statue suddenly began to move.

'Ah, Remus Lupin, it has been a long time, please walk through,' it said and Remus and Hermione entered the passageway that the statue revealed. Then they walked as quickly as they could to Remus' office, where Sirius was still waiting.


	15. Chapter 15

'Why can't you just think for one time before you act?' Sirius shouted.

'He was a threat!' Remus shouted back. He had told Sirius what had happened the last fifteen hours after he had put Ron on his couch, still unconscious. Of course Sirius wasn't happy with any of it.

'That traitor was the only proof of my innocence! You've just ruined it!'

'No, I haven't, we can still go and get his body and then…' Remus said more calmly now.

'THAT'S NOT THE POINT!' Sirius interrupted.

'Than what is your problem?' Remus asked impatiently.

'You just can't hold in your temper! You need to think a little bit further before you do something rushed, Moony!' Sirius yelled.

'Calm down now, Sirius. There is no need to…'

'I'VE WAITED TWELVE YEARS! I CAN BE ANGRY WITH YOU WHEN I WANT TO!'

'You know you can't stay angry with me, Padfoot, you're my friend. Now would you please stop shouting? I don't want Hermione to hear all of this,' Remus said, looking worried at Hermione. She hadn't said anything since they arrived in the office. She was just sitting in a chair, staring straight to the fireplace.

'Then apologize!' Sirius said a little bit less loud.

'Yes, I am sorry, I truly am… But you can't say that you feel sorry for Peter, can you?' Remus asked.

'No, of course not. He deserved it more than anyone. But I hope for your sake that you can still find that body!' Sirius said threatening with his voice still raised.

'Stop talking so loudly, you know that my ears are oversensitive, please. I will get that body for you. Later, okay? We need to check on Ron right now,' Remus said and he turned to Ron once more to see if he was alright.

Sirius didn't argue anymore, he knew that he was being a little bit unreasonable. He would have killed Peter too if he had the chance, he was sure about that. Maybe that was why he was angry with Remus, maybe he was just jealous because of the fact that he didn't get the opportunity to kill that rat himself.

'Hermione?' Remus asked worried when he saw that Hermione didn't even check on Ron to see if her friend was okay. 'Is everything alright?'

'Fine,' she mumbled. She didn't look up to Remus or Ron, she just kept staring straight forward.

Remus wanted to question Hermione further, but then Ron opened his eyes and he looked around weakly.

'What… Where am I?' he whispered confused.

'My office, you were unconscious, do you remember what happened?' Remus asked.

'Yes… I… No… no this is not really happening, tell me that I am dreaming,' Ron said suddenly frightened.

'You're not dreaming. Why do you think?' Remus asked curiously, but then he saw that Ron was looking at Sirius. Of course.

'This is not real…' Ron murmured with difficulty.

'Ron, please calm down, you are not dreaming. This is Sirius Black and no, he is not dangerous. He is innocent, but the story is too long to tell right now. Just trust me, can you do that?' Remus said, trying to reassure Ron.

'I guess… Professor? I am sorry… About, you know,' Ron said softly.

'There is no need to apologize, Ron. I have already forgiven you. You know, I was planning on giving you detention for the next month, but seeing you in this state, I think that you don't really need detention. Let's just forget about everything,' Remus said.

'Thanks… Where is Hermione?' Ron asked, but then he saw her sitting on the chair. She looked up when he mentioned her name.

'Ron. Good to see that you are awake,' she said, she sounded a little bit cold, while she was normally always friendly and warm.

'Is everything alright, 'Mione?' Ron asked and he sat up from the couch.

'Why does everyone want to know how I am? I'm fine, alright?' she answered.

'Sure,' Ron said and he got up to his feet. He trembled a little bit, but he managed to remain standing. Then he walked carefully over to Hermione and he pulled her in for a hug. She didn't hug him back very warmly, but she didn't push him away either.

'Thank you, Hermione, for saving me,' Ron said, then he suddenly realized that Remus was in the same room and he pulled back abruptly. Remus didn't say anything, however, he just gave Ron a reassuring smile, telling him that it was okay.

'I think I want to go back to my dormitory, I need some rest,' Ron said eventually.

'It's not wise to walk to the Gryffindor Tower on your own in this state,' Remus said.

'Then you should go with me, or Hermione,' Ron suggested.

Hermione shook her head stubbornly, she didn't look like she was planning on going anywhere. She didn't feel like going back to the dormitory right now. Hermione didn't know exactly what it was, but she felt different, as though there was nothing to be happy about anymore.

'I'm not leaving Hermione right now, Ron, I am sorry. You should stay for…' Remus said, but Sirius interrupted him.

'I can go with you, if you want. I understand it completely if you don't want me to go with you, but I assure you that I won't kill you,' Sirius said with a small smile.

Ron looked as though he was considering the option. He really wanted to go back to the dormitory, but he wasn't sure if Sirius could be trusted.

'How are you going to do that, Sirius? You can't be seen,' Remus remarked.

'I know that. It is late, I can go in my dog form. Besides, I know a shorter route to the Tower, just give me the map and I can make sure I won't be seen,' Sirius said and he took the map.

Ron looked from Sirius to Remus. He didn't know anything about a map either. Things were getting more and more confusing for him.

'There is something else, isn't there, Sirius?' Remus asked, judging the expression on his friend's face.

'No, I am just sick of sitting here all day,' Sirius simply stated.

'How much I want to believe you, I think you hope to see Harry. Promise me that you won't go looking for him. Just bring Ron to the Tower and come straight back,' Remus said.

'But I want to…' Sirius said.

'No. I've told you, you can see Harry later. Not now. Ron, is it okay if Sirius is going with you?' Remus asked.

'Yes… I suppose so?' Ron said, still not completely certain. But he knew that Sirius wouldn't do him any harm as long as they were at Hogwarts. Besides, Sirius didn't even look like a murderer, he seemed like a friendly man.

'Good, it's a shame that we don't have James' cloak, though,' Sirius said.

'James? Cloak? You don't mean Harry's cloak? He… Wait. Did you know James Potter? Harry's father?' Ron asked, now the confusion was complete.

'Yes… We both knew him. We were his friends. He had a cloak…' Sirius answered, but Ron finished his sentence.

'Of invisibility! Yes, Harry has it now!' Ron said.

'I knew it, I already suspected that James would've passed it on to his son,' Sirius smiled and then he transformed into a dog.

Ron looked at the dog surprised, another thing he didn't know about.

'He is an animagus?' he asked in awe.

'Yes, he is, well, I suppose it is time to go, Ron. Please take this map with you and give it to Sirius when you've reached the Tower, alright?' Remus said and Ron nodded. Then both Ron and Sirius left the office and went to the Gryffindor Tower together.

Remus turned towards Hermione, who was still in the chair, not responding on anything that happened in the office.

'How are you feeling, Hermione?' Remus asked concerned.

'None of your business,' Hermione snapped.


	16. Chapter 16

'Tell me what's bothering you,' Remus tried again. Hermione was still not looking at him, but she stood up from her chair now.

'I don't know, alright? Just leave me alone,' she said harshly.

'No, tell me what's wrong, I want to help,' Remus said softly.

'Stay away from me,' Hermione snapped as Remus took a little step closer towards her. Where did all of this anger come from? This wasn't her.

'Then tell me,' Remus said now more forcefully. He didn't like Hermione's attitude.

'Why are you so damn persisting? Just leave me alone,' Hermione said again, raising her voice.

'I won't. I consider it my problem when you are like this. You are my mate, I want to help you. I love you, Hermione,' Remus said and he wanted to wrap his arms around her. But Hermione fought off his arms and took a step back.

'Don't _touch _me. I am serious. Keep _away _from me,' Hermione said with wide, stern eyes.

Remus, however, wasn't planning on letting Hermione feel this miserable and angry. He wasn't going to give up.

'I won't touch you. Just tell me what's wrong,' he said again.

'Fine! I'll just leave!' Hermione said angrily and she tried to reach the door. She didn't get the chance to open it, because Remus grabbed her and forced her against the wall so that she couldn't get away with as much softness as he could bring up.

'You can't leave. I won't allow it. Not like this, look at me,' Remus demanded and he lifted her chin so that she was forced to look at him. She looked angry. She shook her head and looked away again.

'Let me go! If you love me, then you'd let me go!' Hermione yelled.

Remus was struggling with himself. He couldn't let her go, he didn't want to, but Hermione wanted him to let him go. And he didn't want to do something against Hermione's will.

'You aren't letting me go then? So you don't love me? You were just taking advantage of me! I hate you!' Hermione shouted and she tried to get away from Remus.

The last words from Hermione hurt Remus. How could she say that?

'Listen to me, Hermione! This is not you! You are under the influence of that potion! I would never, I _could _never take advantage of you. I wouldn't! I love you, Hermione, believe me,' Remus said.

'Then get your hands off me,' Hermione hissed.

'I can't. I can't let you go like this. Tell me that you love me,' Remus said with tears in his eyes.

'If you know what's good for you, then you'd let me go,' Hermione repeated with a threatening glistering in her eyes.

'I don't think you understand. I think it is the other way round. You should think twice before you decide to threaten me, love. You are mine and that will never change,' Remus said with a possessive look.

'Whatever! I want to leave. Now!' Hermione yelled.

'As you wish. Just know that I still love you and that I am still here tomorrow for when the potion has lost his influence on you,' Remus said, still not letting go. It was hard for him to let her go like this, but he had to. He had to fight the wolf. He removed his arms and turned around so that he didn't have to look at Hermione anymore.

'Go, now!' he said forcefully, knowing that he couldn't let her go if she would stay longer.

Hermione quickly left the office and ran to the Gryffindor Tower. There were tears in her eyes and she didn't know why. She just hoped that she wouldn't meet anyone on her way to the Tower. It was late and she wasn't allowed out of bed. Luckily, there was no one and she could easily reach the Common Room. There she saw Ron, sitting on the couch.

'I thought you were going to sleep?' Hermione snapped.

'I was, but then I thought that I could… What's wrong Hermione? You… you have been crying!' he exclaimed.

'Why would you care? Why would anyone care?' Hermione said harshly, moving towards the staircase.

'What happened? Is there something with Remus? Did he hurt you?' Ron asked worried.

Hermione started to cry. Remus didn't hurt her, but he did let her go. Of course she had asked for that, but why did he turn his back towards her? He had sounded curtly and angry. As though he didn't want her to be around any longer. So didn't he love her anymore? She saw that Ron was looking more and more worried, so she shook her head.

'Then what?' he asked.

'Do you think he loves me?' Hermione asked through her tears.

'You should ask him. Why? Did he say that he doesn't love you?' Ron asked.

'No, the opposite, actually. But I don't know… I guess I am being upset because of that potion. I was being silly. But he let me go! He didn't look at me!' Hermione said, she felt really upset.

'Come here,' Ron said and he pulled her in for a hug. Before Hermione knew what she was doing, she kissed Ron. She couldn't control her emotions anymore. She didn't know what to do.

Ron pulled back from the kiss.

'Hermione, you are upset, we shouldn't…'

'You are right, I am sorry…'

'No, don't be sorry. I just don't think you are completely yourself right now. Just wait until tomorrow,' Ron said carefully and he hugged her again.

'I don't want to go to the dormitory… Please stay with me?' Hermione asked, not wanting to be alone.

Ron nodded and he picked up a blanket. Hermione sat down on the couch and Ron sat down next to her, putting the blanket around them. Hermione soon drifted into a dreamless sleep and her head sank down on Ron's shoulder.

* * *

'Hermione! Hermione… wake up!' Ron said and he carefully stroke her cheek to wake her up.

'What? What am I doing here?' Hermione asked confused.

'Don't you remember? Last night you came here and you didn't want to go back to the dormitory, so you decided to sleep here. On the couch,' Ron explained.

'What?! Why are you here then?' Hermione asked.

'You didn't want to be alone.'

Hermione couldn't remember any of it for some reason. She remember Ron being in the Room of Requirement, she remembered Ron waking up in Remus' office and she remembered how she had felt. Then she remembered the little argument with Remus and she also knew that she had left the office. But after that, she couldn't recall anything.

'You were upset about something. You said that Remus didn't love you anymore and then…' Ron stopped talking.

'What? No! I didn't say that! And then what? What happened?' she asked.

'You kissed me.'

'I did not!'

'Yes, you did.'

'Why?'

'Because you were upset, I think. Or maybe because you secretly do love me. Maybe you do want to be with me?' Ron suggested.

'Not this again! I can't remember any of this! How could I do this?'

'I don't know, but I personally find it quite disturbing. You are telling me all the time that you have no feelings for me. You've told me several times that you just want to be friends, that you love Remus, and just when I have accepted that, you kiss me again! Why are you doing this? Don't you have any idea how this is for me?' Ron said frustrated.

'I am so sorry, Ron, I truly am. I shouldn't have done this. I didn't do this on purpose! I would never hurt you like this,' Hermione said.

'But you did,' Ron said.

'I am sorry!' Hermione said again.

'Just go to your werewolf and leave me alone for now. I see you in class,' Ron said and he went upstairs to his own dormitory to change clothes.

In class… Oh yes, it was Monday of course. Hermione had to change clothes as well and she had to pick up her books of course, but she felt terrible. Being in the dormitory right now would only result in difficult questions from the other girls. She wanted to see Remus first, he must be angry with her. She had really been making a point about nothing.

Hermione climbed out of the portrait, still in the same clothes, and went downstairs. She didn't bother to have some breakfast first, she just wanted to see Remus right now. When she reached his office, she raised her hand, took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Remus opened the door with a tired face. He hadn't slept very well, obviously. He was wearing the same shirt as yesterday, Hermione noticed. He hadn't bothered to change clothes either.

'Hermione,' he said and he walked back in. Hermione just assumed that she had to follow him, so she walked in and closed the door behind her.

'Why are you here?' he asked curtly.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey! Seventeenth Chapter! I'm sorry about the little cliffhanger yesterday, but don't worry, everything will be alright :p**

* * *

'Where is Sirius?' Hermione asked, trying to change the conversation to something more pleasant than last night.

'Out for a walk. Why are you back?' Remus asked.

'Because I feel guilty. I shouldn't have left. I felt… angry,' Hermione said.

'You said you hate me,' Remus said.

'Did I?' Hermione asked, she couldn't remember that. All she knew was that she was angry with him without knowing why.

'Yes, you did.'

Remus still didn't look at her, Hermione was getting a little bit uncomfortable.

'Then I am sorry! I felt so different, it was not your fault, believe me,' Hermione said and she laid her arm on his shoulder.

'Don't ever do that to me again,' Remus said softly and he finally turned around. But as soon as he did, he regretted it. His face changed immediately.

'What's wrong?' Hermione asked concerned.

'You didn't… You have… That smell again…' Remus said.

'What?' Hermione asked, but then she remembered that she had been with Ron the whole night, of course Remus could smell that.

'Have you _slept _with him?' Remus asked with stern eyes.

'No, no, Remus, it is not what you think… I was tired and I didn't want to be alone so we…' Hermione said but she stopped when Remus came closer to her face.

'You two have kissed,' he growled. 'I thought I could trust you that this wouldn't happen again!'

'I haven't! Not… not deliberately! I was angry and upset and I didn't know…'

'Not deliberately?! So he forced himself on you?!' Remus said, raising his voice, he was angry. 'That boy needs to keep his hands off you. I am going to make that clear to him.'

Remus was already walking towards the door, but Hermione stopped him.

'No! It wasn't him! I did it! I kissed him first!' Hermione yelled, trying to protect Ron.

'WHAT!?' Remus now shouted.

'Please… please Remus…' Hermione whispered.

'I can't believe this… Why would you do that?' Remus asked more calmly, but he breathed heavily.

'Because I wasn't myself, I guess,' Hermione said softly, looking to the floor.

'I love you, Hermione, and I have told you that several times last night. Kissing Ron is a wrong move and you don't know how much I am fighting myself right now to make sure I won't do anything stupid,' Remus growled.

'Yes… I know,' Hermione said and then she tried to kiss him, but he turned his head.

'I can't, Hermione! Don't!' Remus said forcefully, but Hermione wouldn't listen.

She laid her hand on his cheek and forced him to look at her, but when she came closer, Remus grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the wall.

'I've told you that you are mine. Mine, no one else's. Ron is not going to touch you again, and neither are you going to touch him. I don't want to see you near him anymore. Am I clear?' Remus said through clenched teeth. He couldn't keep his possessive side in check any longer.

'He is my friend! He didn't do anything wrong!' Hermione exclaimed, but then she saw Remus' eyes, they were getting yellow.

'I've told you that I could be dangerous, not to you, but to others. Promise me, Hermione, please promise me and everything will be alright,' he said surprisingly softly.

'You know I can't promise, he is my friend. Now let go of me,' Hermione said, looking Remus straight in the eyes.

Remus did what she said, but he was still fuming.

'You're right. Of course you are. I can't forbid you to be friends with him. I just don't wish the boy any harm. I just can't believe you did this,' Remus said and out of frustration, he kicked away a wooden chair. It flew through the office and shattered against the wall so that Hermione let out a shriek. Then she started to sob.

Remus looked up at her and felt sorry. It was not his place to hurt his mate, he couldn't do that. He walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her as softly as he could. No matter how angry he felt, he had to comfort her. Hermione relaxed a little in his arms and she looked up at him. Her face was wet from the tears, but she did smile at him.

'Can you forgive me? And Ron?' she asked carefully.

'Of course, I think I can. I love you,' Remus answered. It wasn't really how he felt, he was still angry, but he didn't want to show it. Hermione couldn't help that he was a werewolf.

'I love you too,' she replied.

'Prove it then.'

Hermione stood on her toes and captured Remus' lips with hers. Right when they were deepening the kiss, they heard a knock on the door. They pulled back immediately. They were just in time, because a man came in the office without invitation. Severus Snape. He looked around the office as though he was looking for something. Or someone.

'Severus,' Remus said curtly.

'Lupin. Believe me when I say I don't want to be here, but I… what are you doing here?' Snape asked when he saw Hermione standing in the office next to Remus.

'Miss Granger is here to return one of my books. Why are you here?' Remus said.

'Be a little nicer, Lupin. You still owe me, you know? I have been thinking and I know how you can pay me back for that potion.'

'Yes?'

'Give me Sirius Black.'

'What are you talking about?' Remus asked, trying to keep his poker face.

'You know what I am talking about. I know that he is here. And you are going to give him to me, or else I will involve you, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley in the situation as well,' Snape sneered.

'You have been following us,' Remus stated bitterly.

'Maybe. Now, tell me where he is,' Snape demanded.

'No. He is innocent. You are going to put him in Azkaban again, aren't you?' Remus asked.

'Indeed, Lupin. As far as I am concerned, he is guilty. And I think he deserves Azkaban,' Snape said.

'How can you say that? No one deserves Azkaban! Alright, Death Eaters do, but Sirius is not a Death Eater! You are just being pathetic because of your youth. Now get out,' Remus ordered.

'No, you owe me, Lupin,' Snape snapped.

'I am not in a good mood, Severus. You are not making it any better. Now get out before I kill you,' Remus threatened.

'You are not going to kill me. You will give me Black, or else I will tell the ministry that you are trying to help him. Together with those two students,' Snape said unpleasantly.

'Leave them out of this, they've got nothing to do with this. I am serious, Severus, leave now. Don't mess me around,' Remus said calmly.

'Don't threaten me, Lupin. I know what you are.'

'Then leave.'

'Tell me where he is.'

'I am not going to betray my best friend!' Remus said impatiently, Snape had to leave now, he was only getting more angry every second he had to look at him. He was not going to take away Sirius from him. And he was certainly not going to threaten Hermione and involve her in this.

'Oh how brave you are. He was the one who betrayed your other best friend, though. And Lily,' Snape said. There was something in his eyes changing when he mentioned Lily's name.

'That was not Sirius! That was Pettigrew!' Remus shouted.

'He's dead.'

'He cut off his own finger and then he transformed into a rat.'

'So he is not dead?'

'Well… He was not dead, but now he is,' Remus said. He was not going to tell Snape that he had killed Peter.

'Then you have no prove. So give me Sirius,' Snape said.

'Never,' Remus growled and he approached Snape slowly. 'I'll protect him with my life.'

'I don't doubt that.'

'Leave, now. If you stay longer, you will regret it,' Remus growled.

'Then I shall have to find him myself, I guess,' Snape sighed and he wanted to turn to the door. But Remus grabbed him suddenly by the collar.

'If you touch him, I will hunt you down and I will take my revenge. If you touch him, I will make your life even more miserable than it already is,' Remus said dangerously softly. Then let go of Snape's collar and he watched Snape's reaction.

'So you secretly still are a bloodthirsty monster? You won't stop me from finding Black. Miss Granger, I don't think you should hang around here any longer,' Snape sneered.

'I think that that is up to me to decide, professor,' Hermione replied politely.

Snape glared at Remus and then he left the office quickly.

'That jerk,' Remus said bitterly and he sank down in a chair.

'Don't listen to him, he won't find Sirius, he can't. We will find a place for Sirius where he can stay,' Hermione said, rubbing Remus' back softly. Then she kissed his cheek gently.

'You always know to say the right things,' Remus said, smiling a little.

'Of course, I am not your mate for nothing,' Hermione giggled.

'You know why I hate Snape the most? He is a great moment killer,' Remus said with a mysterious grin on his face.

'You are up to something,' Hermione teased.

'I always am,' Remus said and he leaned in to kissed Hermione passionately.

* * *

**So will it be an evil Snape or a good Snape? I'm not quite sure about that yet... But Sirius will be safe :p Hope you like the story so far! x**


	18. Chapter 18

Sirius returned later that morning, when Hermione had already left for her first class. Remus told Sirius everything about what Snape had said earlier.

'You don't think he is being serious, do you?' Sirius asked worried.

'No, I don't think so. I've told him that he would regret a wrong move towards you. But I am not entirely sure if he took me serious,' Remus said.

'So this means that I have to hide myself from Snivellus? Great. What am I supposed to do now? He knows that I am here, doesn't he?' Sirius asked.

'Yes, I think so. You could stay in the Shrieking Shack or something, but I completely understand if you don't want to be there.'

'I could stay at my parents' house, you know, Grimmauld Place?' Sirius suggested.

'That's a good one. Number 12, wasn't it? I remember yes. Though I was never welcome there, neither were James and Lily,' Remus remembered.

'Don't blame me!' Sirius said defensibly.

'I don't. Now, you have to go there as quickly as…' Remus began.

'I am not going anywhere! I am here to see Harry and I am not leaving this castle before I have spoken to him!' Sirius said.

'Really? Snivellus knows you are here! Don't be so stupid, you need to hide,' Remus said.

'Then go and get Harry now, after that, I will leave.'

'Fine!'

'You will go and get him?' Sirius asked.

'Of course, I know that it's no use arguing with you. The sooner you have seen Harry, the sooner you will be safe,' Remus said and he turned to the door. 'Oh, joy, I just remember, he is in Potion Class right now…'

Sirius smirked at that.

'Well, good luck, my friend,' he said and then Remus left the room to go and get Harry.

* * *

'I've told you to let Longbottom figure this out on his own,' Snape snapped as he walked towards the table where Hermione was trying to help Neville with his potion. The boy was scared of professor Snape and he was terrible at potions.

'He did figure it out on his own,' Hermione replied.

'I don't think so, Miss Granger. Longbottom is too stupid to even know what side of the cauldron he has to put on the fire,' Snape sneered.

'He is not! He is just insecure. And I don't blame him. You should encourage him instead of telling him that he is worthless!' Hermione objected.

'Ten points from Gryffindor for your rudeness, Granger. You can't talk to me like this,' Snape said and after that, he walked back to his desk.

Hermione wanted to talk to professor Snape about what had happened earlier. She wanted to try if she could convince him about Sirius' innocence. Snape was being unfair and she wanted to tell him that, even if that would cost her house another ten points. She walked over to Snape's desk and hesitated for a moment. She had to make sure that the rest of the class wouldn't hear them, of course.

'Professor?' Hermione asked carefully.

Snape looked up from his desk and he looked rather annoyed.

'What is it?' he unpleasantly.

'I wanted to tell you something. Not here, if it's possible,' Hermione said quietly.

'Right, come with me,' Snape said and he walked out of the classroom, he hoped that Hermione would tell him something about Black. In the corridor he waited for her.

'Well?' Snape asked impatiently when Hermione appeared.

'It is about Sirius Black, professor. He really is innocent, I don't think you are being entirely fair. He has done nothing wrong and neither has R… professor Lupin,' Hermione said. She blushed when she realized that she had nearly mentioned her Defense teacher's first name in front of professor Snape.

'I don't think you should talk about things you know nothing about,' Snape snapped.

'I know that Sirius is innocent and I'm asking you to believe that,' Hermione said nervously.

'You know what, Granger, I am not going to listen to a student. I don't care what you have to say. I am going to find Black and I am going to make him pay for what he has done,' Snape said.

'But…' Hermione started.

'I don't want to hear it! Go back to the classroom and don't bother me again!' Snape said, raising his voice.

'Professor…' Hermione began again.

'Didn't you hear me? Ten points from Gryffindor. Now go back!' Snape said, getting angry. He was clearly annoyed by Hermione. She still didn't move.

'I don't care how many points you are taking, you need to listen!' Hermione said forcefully, though she didn't feel very brave right now.

'You are not telling me what to do, Granger,' Snape said.

'You are being unreasonable!'

'Don't you talk to me like that, Granger. You will regret it.'

'Then stop blackmailing everyone and just let it go!' Hermione exclaimed.

'Why do you bother? Why are you trying to protect Black? And Lupin?' Snape asked sternly.

'I just don't want innocent people to die, that's all,' Hermione said, she was getting a little bit desperate, Snape didn't want to listen.

'Just stop putting your nose in other's business, Granger,' Snape snapped. 'Now back to your potion. I am sure Longbottom is eagerly waiting for you.'

'Please, professor, don't go…' Hermione tried again, but she was interrupted by a now angry Snape.

'JUST SHUT UP NOW! YOU ARE PLAYING WITH FIRE,' Snape shouted, his face was entirely pale and he looked a little bit frightening like this.

Hermione had tears in her eyes and she decided that she could better return to the classroom. She could not reason her professor. Just when she turned around to go back to the classroom, she bumped into another man.

'Hermione?' Remus asked, totally forgetting to address her with her last name. Snape didn't even notice, Remus called Harry by his first name too. It was not new. 'Is everything alright?'

'Yes, I am fine,' Hermione answered, but her voice was trembling. She was trying to hold back her tears.

Remus shot Snape a glare, he had already heard everything. He had a very good hearing as a werewolf.

'I don't believe shouting at a student is really the job of a teacher, Severus,' Remus said calmly.

'Lupin. What are you doing here?' Snape asked emotionless.

'I could ask you the same question. You are supposed to be in your classroom.'

'What's your problem? Why are you here?' Snape asked annoyed.

'I was here to get Harry. I need to ask him something. I heard everything you've just said, Severus, you are being naïve. You should leave Sirius alone. And miss Granger as well,' Remus said softly.

'Not this again. I've told you, I am not afraid of you,' Snape said.

'Don't you think for one moment that I was making empty threats. You know that I will protect my friends and you should not play games with me,' Remus growled.

Snape cleared his throat, clearly not knowing what to say.

'So… why do you want to see Potter?' Snape asked, changing the subject.

'Just go and get him,' Remus ordered.

Snape shrugged his shoulders and he wanted to go back to the classroom, but Remus grabbed his shoulder forcefully so he couldn't move.

'Your last warning, Severus. Don't go looking for Sirius and don't you threaten others. It might be the last thing you'll do,' Remus said through clenched teeth and then he let go of Snape.

'We'll see,' Snape sneered, but his face was not very certain.

Snape quickly went into his classroom and Hermione followed him after giving Remus a sweet smile. In a minute, Harry came out of the classroom.

'Professor?' he asked curiously. Though he didn't mind that he had a reason to leave the dungeons.

'Harry, good to see you. I wanted to show you something, it is important,' Remus said and he went up the stairs with Harry following him.

'What is it, professor?' Harry asked on their way upstairs.

'Not now, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. You will see,' Remus said.

Harry didn't ask any further questions. He just waited until they reached the third floor. It must be important, he had to skip his class for this. Remus waited a second in front of the door to his office, as though he had to think about something.

'Professor?' Harry asked uncertainly.

'I want to warn you, Harry. It might be a shock for you, but you have to promise me that you won't freak out or something. Can you do that?' Remus asked softly.

'Sure… What is it then?' Harry asked.

'Who is it then, that would be a better question,' Remus said, then he opened the door and Harry followed him closely.

Harry's eyes widened in shock when he saw the man who was sitting on the couch. He knew his face, he had seen it before on the flyers from the ministry. It was Sirius Black.

'Don't be afraid, Harry, I won't harm you,' Sirius said gently and he gave the boy a smile.


	19. Chapter 19

'Why couldn't somebody just tell me all this? Why do I have to hear this now? And how is it possible that you have been in prison all this time without me even knowing about your existence?' Harry asked.

'Well, I guess no one wanted to bother you with this. Everyone thought I was a serial killer, you know? You can't blame them for not telling you that I was your godfather. You would have freaked out probably,' Sirius explained calmly.

'I am not freaking out right now, am I?' Harry said impatiently.

'I know… But that is because you now know I am innocent,' Sirius said.

'Who else knows?' Harry asked.

'Not everyone wants to believe me, of course. I don't want to take the risk of telling everyone, some people still want me in Azkaban. Only Hermione knows, Ron and Remus of course. And Snape, kind of. He knows I am out of prison and Remus tried to convince him that I am innocent, but Snape being Snape, he refuses to believe that I have done nothing wrong,' Sirius said bitterly.

'Why? Why wouldn't he believe you?' Harry asked curiously.

'Let's just say that forgiving people about something that happened in the past is not professor Snape's strongest point,' Remus said.

'So… what are you going to do now? If Snape, I mean, professor Snape, knows about you and he doesn't believe that you're innocent… Then he might want to go looking for you,' Harry said uneasily.

'I know. That's why I wanted to see you now, I have to leave Hogwarts. I am going to my paternal house in London. And I wanted to ask you something as well…' Sirius hesitated for a moment. Harry waited for Sirius to continue.

'Yes?' he encouraged Sirius.

'I was wondering if you would like to visit me some time, since I can't visit you… I am still hiding for the ministry. Maybe you want to come this summer? I understand it when you prefer living with your uncle and aunt, of course…' Sirius said, regretting his proposal immediately. Why would this boy want to visit someone he hardly knew in an old, dirty house?

'No! I'd love to! Really!' Harry said excitedly. He was happy to finally have someone he could go to instead of the Dursleys.

'I am glad that you are accepting my offer, I really am,' Sirius said. He couldn't hide his smile, he almost got tears in his eyes. He had finally met his godson.

'You have no idea how happy I am with your offer, believe me,' Harry said smiling. Sirius looked at him suspiciously.

'Why is that? Don't you like it with your aunt and uncle?' Sirius asked.

'Come on, Padfoot, you have seen Lily's sister yourself once. She hates magic and I am sure her husband does too. I couldn't believe it when Dumbledore decided to leave that boy there! I have considered to take care of him, and I would have if I wasn't a… you know… Those Dursleys can't be any good for him, I have heard Hagrid and McGonagall about them,' Remus said.

'You are right, I never liked Petunia, she was so mean towards everyone who had magic… I am sorry that you had to be there for so long, Harry,' Sirius said, feeling truly sorry now.

'It's okay, it's not your fault that you two couldn't take care of me,' Harry said.

'Harry? I wanted to discuss the last things with Remus if that's okay… I am sure we will meet again soon,' Sirius said. When Harry nodded, Sirius pulled his godson in for a hug. When he let go of Harry, he looked him in the eyes.

'You look so much like James… Except for your eyes, but I am sure I am not the first one who mentioned that to you,' Sirius said smiling.

Harry gave him a smile in return.

'It's okay, I take it as a compliment,' Harry grinned, then he turned towards the door. With one last look, he waved and he went to the Common Room, completely filled with joy because of the news that he had somewhere else to go in the summer.

'We've been here for two hours now, Moony, we need to hurry I guess,' Sirius said.

'How do you want to get there? Floo? You can't apparate here, but I can get you out of Hogwarts unseen if you want… Floo powder is better, I think,' Remus suggested.

Sirius only nodded. Then there was a knock on the door.

'Hide! Quickly,' Remus hissed and when Sirius was gone, Remus slowly opened the door. He sighed in relief when he saw who it was.

'Hermione, come in,' he said and he held the door open for her. 'It's okay, Sirius.'

'Hello, professor, Sirius,' Hermione said.

Sirius appeared once again and he smiled at Hermione. Remus only looked at her.

'You don't need to call me professor… There is no one here,' Remus said.

'Oh, of course, Remus,' Hermione said, but she sounded like she had just heard an unbelievable thing. Remus was not really sure why Hermione acted like this, she never called him professor. He took her hand in his.

'Why are you here? Don't you have class anymore?' Sirius asked surprised.

'No…' Hermione said and she shook her hand out of Remus'. She looked at Remus as though he was magically transformed into a turtle.

'What is it, Mione?' Remus asked suspiciously.

'Nothing,' Hermione answered, but she sounded different. Then she turned to Sirius. 'I want you to come with me, there is something you need to see. I know how I can get you out of here without being seen.'

'We can use floo powder, Hermione. That will work,' Sirius said.

'They can trace you that way, the ministry can see who is travelling through fireplaces,' Hermione said.

'And how do you know that?' Sirius asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

'I just know. Now I need you to come with me, that is safer,' Hermione said.

'No one knows Sirius is here, therefore it is safe to use my fireplace. I think it is more dangerous for Sirius to wander around the castle,' Remus said, not completely trusting Hermione's suggestion. There was something not right about this.

'My solution is better, don't you two trust me?' Hermione asked.

'Of course I trust you, but since I don't know what your idea is, I can't judge the situation. Show it to me first, then we can decide what is better,' Remus said.

'No, I am only taking Sirius with me. Otherwise it would draw too much attention,' Hermione said, crossing her arms. Remus looked at her carefully, there was something different about her.

'Is everything alright with you, dear? You seem a little bit… different,' Remus said carefully.

'Yes I am fine,' Hermione said, but Remus didn't believe her entirely. Her voice sounded strong, but Hermione would never snap to him like this. He came closer to her and pulled her in for a hug, just to see her reaction. Hermione pushed him away quickly.

'What is it then?' Remus asked. It looked like Hermione realized that she had made a mistake, and she started to apologize.

'I am sorry, not now, Remus. I am a little bit worried, that's all,' Hermione said with a small smile.

'So it is nothing serious? You haven't been cursed or something?' Remus asked, still uncertainly.

'No, don't be stupid. Now, are you coming with me or not, Sirius? Because if you are not coming right now, it might be too late,' Hermione said.

'I think I'll stick to the floo powder, but thanks for offering,' Sirius said.

Hermione grew impatient now.

'Don't be so stubborn! I know that floo powder is not safe, you have to trust me! Now hurry, we don't have much time,' Hermione said loudly.

Now Remus had an idea. She was acting different and that was no coincidence.

'We don't have much time? Or don't you have much time? Why are you in a hurry?' Remus asked, turning around to his desk. He waited for Hermione to start talking and then he opened the Marauders Map carefully without Hermione seeing what he was doing. He quietly said: _'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'_ Then he tapped the map with his wand. He turned around for a moment to make sure Hermione hadn't seen what he had been doing.

'We don't have much time, alright? Leastwise, Sirius doesn't have much time,' Hermione said frustrated.

Remus didn't really listen to what she had to say, he was looking for his own office on the map.

'What are you doing?' Hermione asked. 'What is on that piece of parchment?'

There was the proof. Hermione would know what the piece of parchment was. She knew about the map. That meant that this wasn't Hermione. Remus didn't answer her question and continued studying the map. There was his classroom, and his office. There were three persons in the room, one of them was Sirius, one of them was Remus, but the third one wasn't Hermione. Remus grabbed his wand and turned around.

'What have you done to Hermione? Tell me where she is!' he said forcefully, aiming his wand at the fake Hermione.


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey! I am sorry, it has been a while since I last updated. It has been a really hectic period at school for me... But here is is the twentieth chapter :) Hope you like it!**

* * *

'Polyjuice potion I take it? You've taken a great risk in coming here, you know?' Remus said, still holding a firm grip on his wand.

'What? What is going on? Who is this, Remus?' Sirius asked confused.

'See for yourself,' Remus said with a glance towards the map.

Sirius looked at the map and then he saw what was going on. On the place where Hermione was supposed to be, was another name. The map said that this person was Severus Snape. And the map never lies.

'Snivellus, how good to see you,' Sirius sneered.

'How… how on earth do you know?' Snape asked, taking his wand as well.

'That is for us to know and for you to never find out. Now where is the real Hermione?' Remus demanded.

'What is that between you and Granger, Lupin? She is a student,' Snape snapped.

'She is old enough to make her own decisions. We care for each other. And I would do anything for her. So I suggest you tell me where she is and maybe I will spare you,' Remus said softly.

'You want to duel with me? Really?' Snape said with an evil grin.

'If I have to. Don't make me,' Remus said.

'And I'll help Remus. So drop your wand,' Sirius said, taking out his own wand. The Hermione-Snape hesitated for a moment, but he knew that he could not disarm one of them without being attacked by the other. He dropped his wand and when he looked up again he saw that Remus had turned his back towards him. Sirius had still his wand pointed at him, though.

Remus had turned because he saw that Snape was changing into himself once more. He didn't want to see Snape right now, he had to stay calm. He took a few deep breaths and when he was completely calm, he turned around once more. Snape was now Snape again.

'Where is she?' Remus asked again.

'I will tell you, but then Black is coming with me,' Snape sneered.

Remus' face paled.

'Is she alright? Because if you hurt her…' Remus said and he took a step closer to Snape.

'She is alright, calm down. I didn't know you cared about her that much, Lupin. That makes it really interesting. So here is the deal, you get Granger, I get Black,' Snape said.

'You are not going to get Sirius. He is my friend. And you will not get Hermione either. You will tell us where she is, or I will use Veritaserum,' Remus threatened.

'You don't even know what that potion looks like,' Snape sneered.

'But I do,' Sirius said, glaring at Snape. 'So I suggest you tell us now, Snivellus, or we will be a little bit less pleasant.'

'Letting the dogs loose on me?' Snape said sarcastically.

'You are unarmed. You are not in the position to say anything,' Sirius snapped.

'You're disguise has failed, Severus. So give it up. Tell us where Hermione is and we leave your skin intact. If you don't, then you know the consequences,' Remus said softly, but his voice sounded menacing.

'Right, right. She is in my office. I've locked it so she wouldn't go looking for you two. Just a simple charm, but she can't break it herself. Only an outsider can. Now leave me alone,' Snape said and he wanted to pick up his wand.

This was too easy. Snape was up to something.

'We can't let you go. Yet,' Remus said calmly. 'You know far too much. You are a threat to me, Hermione and Sirius. I can't let you go.'

Snape's eyes grew wide.

'Remus… Think of what you are doing. Think of Peter, you can't…' Sirius began, but Remus gave him a reassuring smile.

'I didn't mean to silence him like that. Don't worry, I can control it. I was talking about a simple spell to erase his memory. Just enough to make him forget about all this.'

Sirius was obviously relieved. He nodded in agreement and aimed his wand even better at Snape.

'May I? I've always wanted to do this,' Sirius said.

'Be my guest. But not too much, we don't want him to completely lose his mind,' Remus said.

'I can't promise anything…' Sirius said mischievously.

'You have to,' Remus sighed.

'Alright. I promise,' Sirius said a little bit annoyed.

'You can't do this! It is illegal, you know that!' Snape protested.

'Shut up,' Remus snapped.

'I never thought that you would ever do something illegal, Lupin. You always being the perfect student at Hogwarts. Now that just proves how unfaithful, disloyal…' Snape spit, but Remus took another step closer, making Snape swallow his words.

'That's enough. Don't make it worse. Don't make me angry. I've warned you before. I can still make you regret this before erasing your mind, you know?' Remus growled.

'Remus… Don't. I don't mind if you beat him up, but I know that you do. You don't want this, I am sure about that,' Sirius said quietly, placing a hand on Remus' shoulder.

'What do you know about that? What I want right now, is killing this man. Deep down, I know that it is wrong to feel that, but I can't help it. You have now idea about anything. But you are right, I don't want to do this,' Remus said to Sirius and Snape relaxed a bit. Remus felt this, so he added: 'Don't give me a reason to think otherwise!'

'Just shut up, Snivellus,' Sirius suggested and he pulled Remus away from the potion master. Then he raised his wand and he said: '_Obliviate.'_

Snape's eyes went glassy and then he looked around confused. Sirius quickly ducked away, so that Snape wouldn't see him here.

'What… Why am I here?' Snape asked.

'You don't know? I don't think you feel really well, Severus. You should go and visit madam Pomfrey maybe.'

'No… I am fine. I think I should… go back to my own office…' Snape said.

'No! You can't do that! I mean… you are supposed to gather some more aconite, remember? For my potion. You were just about to do that,' Remus said.

'Was I? I don't know what's wrong with me, but I think I should go to the greenhouse then,' Snape said and he turned to the door. When Snape was out of sight, Sirius appeared from behind the couch where he had been hiding.

'Right. What now? Hermione?' Sirius asked.

'Of course Hermione. I am going to find her. No, you stay here,' Remus said strictly when Sirius grabbed his wand to go with Remus.

'But I want to do something else than just sitting around in here,' Sirius complained.

'You know that you can't be seen. Just stay here,' Remus said.

'Shouldn't I floo first?'

'Yes, I think you should. I'll visit you soon,' Remus answered.

'Oh! Come around Christmas! Oh, and take Harry too,' Sirius said excited.

'Of course. See you then,' Remus smiled and he led Sirius to the fireplace. Sirius took some powder and he vanished in a green fire.

Remus shot one last worried look towards the fire, but then he rushed quickly downstairs to go looking for Hermione. She was still in the dungeons and Remus didn't like it for one bit. The dungeons were never his favorite place and he was sure they weren't Hermione's favorite place either. When he reached the dungeons, he ran towards Snape's office.

'Hermione?' he called out. 'Hermione! Where are you?'

There was no answer.

He looked around for some clue or some prove that Hermione was still here. He looked around the office and found a door. Remus tried it, but it was locked.

'Dang it,' he swore quietly. 'Hermione?' he called again.

Still no answer. She had to be there, there were no other rooms where she could possibly be. He had to be quick now, Snape could return any moment and Remus didn't want to Obliviate him again.

He searched for his wand, but he could not find it anywhere. Of course, it was still in his office. Remus scolded himself for being so stupid. He took a deep breath and decided to force the door open in an alternative way. Forcing the lock open with a paperclip or something the way Muggles always do would take too much time. He would have to kick the door in, that was the only way. It would leave Snape suspicious, but with a bit of luck, he would never now it was Remus. He took a step back and then he threw himself with all his might against the door. It cracked open immediately and Remus fell into the small room.

'Hermione!' he shouted when he saw a figure just lying on the cold ground. 'Oh God, Hermione, what did he do to you?'

Remus went over to her to check her breath. She was breathing, luckily. It was probably just a sleep potion or something, but he didn't want to take the risk by giving her an antidote. If it was something else, it could be dangerous to give her the antidote.

'Hermione… Hermione, can you hear me?' Remus whispered, but Hermione didn't respond. Remus realized that he had to get her out of here before Snape returned. He lifted Hermione up and walked her out of the room and out of Snape's office.

Just when Remus was about to leave the dungeons, Hermione opened her eyes.

'What… What happened? Remus? Is that you?' she asked confused and she pressed herself closer to his chest.

'Yes, I am here. I am taking you to the dormitory… How do you feel, love?' Remus asked concerned.

'I am feeling better now, with you… It was professor Snape, he was… I couldn't stop him… Is everything alright with you?' Hermione asked.

'Yes, and with Sirius too. We have erased professor Snape's memory. He doesn't remember a thing about what happened, don't worry,' Remus said.

'Remus?'

'Hm?'

'Nothing, I love you.'

'I love you too.'

Hermione first wanted to tell him to put her down, because she could walk on her own. But she didn't really want him to put her down, this was way too comfortable. Hermione didn't want Remus to reach the dormitory, she wanted to stay in his arms like this a little bit longer.

'There we are, my young lady,' Remus smiled and he put her down much to Hermione's dislike.

'Please stay,' Hermione said, wrapping her arms around Remus.

'No… not here… They can see… I'll see you tomorrow, and I will tell you everything then, okay?' Remus said and he kissed her forehead softly.

Hermione smiled at him and then she left to the dormitory where she found Ron. Oh, yes, she had totally forgotten about him. After last night, she hadn't spoken to him anymore. And he didn't look like he had forgotten the whole thing.


	21. Chapter 21

'Hermione!' Ron called when he saw Hermione walking into the Common Room. Great, now she couldn't just walk away and ignore him.

'Ron,' she greeted and she walked over to him.

'Please, sit down, I want to talk to you,' Ron said and he sat down on the couch. Hermione sat down next to him, but she knew what the conversation was going to be about and she also knew that she didn't want to have that conversation.

'If it is about last night…' Hermione started.

'I can't just forget about that, you know? We've kissed before, you have told me that you didn't love me back that way, I have accepted that, I have been broken, and now you did it again! What am I supposed to do?' Ron said.

'That wasn't my intension, Ron. I am really sorry, I didn't want to hurt you, believe me. It was wrong and I know that,' Hermione said, feeling truly sorry.

'So… You don't want to try it again?' Ron asked hopefully.

'No,' Hermione stated determined.

'Okay then. I won't push it. Here, have a butterbeer,' Ron said and he gave Hermione a bottle.

'Thanks, you know, that would really make me feel better,' Hermione said and she took the bottle, but she didn't open it yet.

'You should drink it,' Ron said, but Hermione shook her head.

'If I do, then I am asleep in less than a minute. I drink it upstairs, before bed,' Hermione smiled.

'Okay then… Why are you so tired? What have you been doing?' Ron asked.

'Oh, that. I was just about to tell you. Sirius is gone, that is all I know. Snape knew that Sirius was hiding here and he knew about Remus and I. All I know is that Snape's memory has been erased and that I have been locked up in Snape's office all that time,' Hermione said and Ron looked at her with disbelief.

'Locked up? How is that?' he asked.

'Well, apparently Snape has been using a Polyjuice potion to pretend that he was me. More I don't know either, I don't even know where Sirius is now. I am going to ask Remus tomorrow morning before breakfast, so I guess I need to have some rest,' Hermione said.

'Yes, I guess. But… are you sure you are alright? I mean… after being locked up?' Ron asked worried.

'Yes, I am sure, thank you,' Hermione smiled. 'He has used a sleep potion I guess, all I have to do is rest. Thanks for the butterbeer, by the way. It will help with falling asleep.'

'You're welcome. I just finish this chapter in my book and then I will go to sleep as well,' Ron said.

'You read a book?' Hermione asked surprised.

'Why do you sound so surprised? I am not reading this for my own amusement, this is something that will help me with understanding History of Magic,' Ron said dejected.

'I knew there was something not right about it,' Hermione said and she gave Ron a wink. 'Good night.'

'Good night, see you tomorrow,' Ron smiled.

Hermione walked upstairs and she changed her clothes into pajamas. Then she quietly got into bed, not wanting to wake up the others. She took a sip of her butterbeer, it had a very strange taste. Maybe it was a little bit old… But butterbeer couldn't be old that quickly, it was beer after all. She took another sip and then she went to bed. She soon drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

When Hermione woke up early, she felt slightly different. Not in a bad way, but in a very good way. She felt better than she had ever felt before. Then she remembered who she was going to visit. Yes, Remus. Why Remus? Why not Ron? Why on earth would she go to Remus? Hermione shook her head and she wondered why she had to think of Ron. She couldn't help it. He was in her mind all the time. No matter how hard she tried to get him out. Ron's smile… his eyes… his voice… Hermione was in love. Why would she waste her time on Remus? She wanted Ron, definitely. She shook her head again. What was this feeling?

Hermione jumped out of bed and got dressed. Then she hurried down the stairs, making sure that she didn't wake up anyone else. When she was in the Common Room, she hesitated for a moment. All she wanted to do was go to Ron, but… she already had said to Remus that she would come. Hermione thought for a moment and then she decided to pay Remus a short visit and then she would go quickly to Ron.

All the way down to the third floor, Hermione was thinking of Ron, she couldn't get him out of her mind. He was there all the time. How was that even possible? Yesterday she didn't feel like this. But Hermione didn't mind, she liked the feeling. It was the best feeling she had ever had. She was in love. With Ron.

When she finally reached the Defense classroom, Hermione hesitated for a moment. Maybe it would be better not to see Remus now. Or maybe she should tell him that she loves Ron. Yes, that would be the best, he had the right to know. Hermione raised her hand when she was at the door of his office and then she knocked.

'Come in,' she heard and she entered the room.

Remus opened his arms and wanted to wrap them around Hermione, but she pulled away. Remus only raised his eyebrow, but he didn't say anything about it.

'Everything alright?' he asked concerned.

'I've never felt better in my entire life,' Hermione admitted and Remus smiled.

'Okay, then. So, about yesterday… I assume you would like to know where Sirius is?' Remus asked and Hermione nodded.

'He is at Grimmauld Place now, in London. That's where he has been living during his youth and now it seems like the best place for him to hide. The rest you already knew, I believe,' Remus said and Hermione nodded again.

Remus smiled at her and tried to hug her again, but Hermione pulled back.

'What is it, love?' Remus asked now worried.

'Nothing. That is what I wanted to tell you. There is nothing. Between you and me, I mean. I have discovered this morning that I am in love with Ron,' Hermione said with a dreamy expression.

'You're joking, now come here you,' Remus said.

'I am not joking! I am serious! I just wanted you to know, that's all,' Hermione snapped and then she opened the door in order to leave, but Remus slammed the door close before she could.

'What the hell, Hermione? You expect me to believe this? This just came out of nowhere! Tell me what's wrong. Did I do something? Did I hurt you someway?' Remus asked, his eyes were really worried about her.

'No! You didn't do anything wrong. It's just… I don't love you anymore,' Hermione said harshly.

'You can't mean that. You are my mate,' Remus said.

'Well, not anymore!' Hermione said, now a little louder.

Remus grabbed her by her shoulders.

'Come on, tell me what's wrong,' he tried again, but Hermione shook his hand off her.

'Don't touch me. Don't you dare,' she hissed, but Remus didn't take a step back.

'So… you are serious?' he asked.

'Of course. Do you honestly think I would lie about something like this? Ron means everything to me,' Hermione said.

'You don't know what you are saying. You can't leave me,' Remus said calmly.

'I think I can. Now get out of my way,' Hermione said forcefully.

'I won't. I can't. I can't let you go like this. I can't let Ron have you, you are mine and you know that. You don't know… You don't know anything… You are playing with fire right now. Tell me that you love me, please,' Remus said softly.

'No. I can't,' Hermione said resolutely.

'I was already afraid of this the first time you kissed me. It was a mistake, I know that. But it is too late. Don't go to Ron, please don't. I know that I couldn't control myself. I could kill him and then I would take you back. You can't go to him, we've been together for too long for that,' Remus said.

'Get out of my way,' Hermione ordered.

'You don't realize what you are doing…' Remus begged, he felt himself boiling inside, but he didn't want to get angry with Hermione. He had to control himself. He had to reason her.

'Yes, I do,' she said determined.

'I don't want to hurt anyone… Please…' Remus tried again.

'Then don't. Just leave me alone,' Hermione said simply.

'DAMNIT HERMIONE! DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE?' Remus now shouted and Hermione took a step back. Ron would never shout to her. Ron… he was so amazing.

'Get out of my way. Now. Let me go,' Hermione demanded.

'You know I can't,' Remus growled, looking desperately for his self-control. He was breathing heavily.

Hermione didn't reply, she just tried to push Remus away.

'If this is what you want, then go. But know that you are making a mistake. Know that I will do anything to get you back, whether I want it or not. The wolf within will take over control and there is nothing I can do about it,' Remus now whispered and then he stepped aside so that Hermione could leave, which she did.

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**Hope you liked the chapter! Please review :)**


	22. Chapter 22

'Ron!' Hermione said enthusiastically when she saw Ron during lunch.

Ron smiled at her and he saw directly that his plan has worked. The only thing he had to do now is to make sure she drank more of the Love Potion so that she would stay in love with him. As long as Hermione loved him, Remus was not a threat to him.

'Hermione! Good to see you,' Ron said and Hermione sat down next to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a kiss.

'Have you been missing me?' Hermione asked sweetly.

'Of course, 'Mione. You know that,' Ron said and he kissed her back more passionately.

Then Harry entered the Great Hall and when he saw the couple kissing, he looked at them rather suspiciously.

'Hello? Did I miss something?' he asked.

'Harry! Ron and I are together now! Sorry for not telling you earlier,' Hermione said happily.

'Where did that come from? This is so suddenly, I thought you were in love with Remus?' Harry said confused.

'Not anymore,' Hermione giggled and she kissed Ron's cheek softly.

'Okay… And does Remus know?' Harry asked.

'Of course he does,' Hermione said. 'I've told him this morning.'

Harry looked very worried now, but he didn't want to argue.

'You better watch out then,' Harry said and then he quickly changed the subject. 'So Ron has told me about Padfoot, is he alright? Do you know where he is?'

'He is safe, he is in his old house. I think you get to visit him soon,' Hermione answered and then she drew her attention back to Ron again.

'Hermione… Ron… I don't think you should sit next to each other during Defense… You know, because of Remus?' Harry said carefully.

Hermione shot him a glare.

'He just needs to accept that I am with Ron,' she snapped.

'Yes, but, it is not that easy, you know? You should be careful,' Harry said.

The two ignored Harry and Ron gave Hermione a glass orange juice.

'Here, drink something,' he smiled and Hermione took the cup. She drank the juice and she immediately felt better somehow. Everything seemed so much better with Ron next to her.

'Come on, darling, we need to go. Otherwise we are late for Defense,' Ron said.

'Are you sure? We can always… skip class,' Hermione said mischievously.

'What the hell is wrong with you, Hermione? Skip class?' Harry said surprised.

'Oh, shut up, Harry. What do you say Ron?' Hermione said, her eyes not leaving Ron's.

'If you really want to, then I am in,' Ron answered.

'Ron! How can you say that! You will get problems with this, don't you realize what you are doing?' Harry exclaimed. But Ron and Hermione ignored him and left the Great Hall hand in hand.

Harry shook his head and then he left the Great Hall as well to go to his next lesson.

* * *

Remus was already waiting in the classroom for his next lesson. He was not really looking forward to it, last time he already had trouble with holding in his temper, but that was different. Now that Hermione had told him that she wanted to be with Ron, he felt incomplete and angry all the time. He couldn't forget it and he couldn't think of anything else. So when the class was complete, he told them to read chapter five and to make a summary for the next lesson, so that he didn't have to talk too much. The class was clearly surprised by the fact that the lesson was so boring, normally their Defense lessons were very exciting.

Remus looked around the classroom to check if everyone was there. He missed two students immediately. Ron and Hermione. That was just too much.

'Mr. Potter, please come to my desk,' Remus called and Harry walked towards his professor.

Remus looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to him and Harry, but everyone was just working on his or her summary.

'Where the hell are Ron and Hermione?' Remus whispered.

Harry was getting nervous now. It wouldn't be smart to tell the truth, but he didn't really want to lie to his favorite professor. That would be unfair. But telling the truth would give Ron and Hermione problems, something he didn't want to happen either.

'Ron felt sick, professor, he went to see madam Pomfrey. And Hermione was with professor McGonagall. I don't really know why, though,' Harry whispered as convincing as he could.

'Right. I don't really believe you. Don't lie to me,' Remus said and he looked at Harry very insinuatingly.

'I… I don't know where they are…' Harry said, looking to the ground.

'Then find them. Now. And tell Ron to keep his hands off Hermione, otherwise I will rip his throat out,' Remus hissed and Harry nodded and left the classroom.

Harry hoped that he could find Ron and Hermione somewhere, because it would be his fault when he didn't. Maybe the Common Room, it's probably empty now, so that would be the best place to go looking for his two friends. There was something not right about all of this and Harry had the feeling that Remus knew that too. Hermione wouldn't act like this normally.

When Harry reached the Gryffindor Tower, he opened the portrait and entered the room. It was almost empty, except for a second years who was sitting on the couch, reading a book. Harry walked up the stairs, but he secretly hoped that he wouldn't find the two in the dormitory.

But there they were. Harry opened the door to the dormitory and there he found Ron and Hermione. Kissing each other intensely.

'Ahum. Guys…' Harry said and the two looked up.

'What?' Ron asked annoyed.

'Remus sent me. To get you two. You have to go to Defense and if I were you, I would go. Oh, and Ron,' Harry said and he grabbed Ron's arm and went closer to him so that Hermione couldn't hear them. 'He also told me that you need to keep your hands off Hermione, otherwise he would rip your throat out.'

Ron laughed at that.

'Come on… Who the hell does he think he is? Hermione loves me,' Ron said.

'I don't know what is going on, but I think it is rather suspicious. I mean, Hermione didn't love you yesterday and suddenly she can't think about anything else. She even wants to skip classes! And I also think that Remus suspects something as well, so I would be careful,' Harry said quietly.

'Do you honestly think that I've got something to do with this? Hermione is the one who made this decision, not me,' Ron said.

'Are you sure about that? I doubt it, Ron. And I don't like it when you are doing something to her. She is my friend. And I am sure Remus doesn't like it either. What have you done to her?' Harry asked.

'Nothing!'

'Is it a Love Potion?'

'Of course not!'

'I think it is. And you are going to stop with this. I won't tell anyone, but you can't do this. Remus will find out and believe me, you don't want that. Trust me, it is best for everyone to let her go,' Harry said.

'It is not a Love Potion. You have no prove, so there is nothing for me to worry about! Now leave us alone, will you?' Ron demanded.

'Then what about class?' Harry asked, now somewhat louder so that Hermione could hear them too.

'Just shut up and tell your werewolf friend that we are not coming,' Ron said stubbornly.

Hermione crossed her arms which was a sign for Harry to leave. They were not coming with him. He had to make sure Hermione didn't get more of that potion, she had to become normal once more before it was too late. Harry left the Gryffindor Tower and he went back to the classroom grudgingly.

Harry didn't really want to enter the classroom on his own, but he had to. He opened the door and closed it directly behind him. He saw Remus looking at him, and Harry rushed towards the desk.

'Well?' Remus asked.

'I couldn't find them,' Harry lied.

'That's not the truth. Where are they? What are they doing?' Remus tried again.

Harry shook his head. Then Remus raised from behind his desk and he signed that Harry had to follow him. They went outside the classroom for a moment, so that they could talk without anyone listening to them.

'Tell me,' Remus demanded.

'You don't really want to know,' Harry said, again looking at the ground. He didn't really want to meet Remus' eyes right now.

'Come on, you can tell me. Or do I have to find out myself?' he asked.

Harry hesitated for a moment. Remus would find out sooner or later, so Harry could better tell him right now.

'They are together, in the dormitory,' Harry began, but he couldn't continue. He saw Remus' face becoming paler.

'And?' Remus insisted.

'And they were, you know… kissing…' Harry said quietly.

'Did you tell them to go to class? Did you tell Ron what I had said?' Remus asked, he was trying his very best to control the wolf.

'Yes… But he wouldn't listen. Actually, they wouldn't listen…' Harry said, he thought that it would be better to leave the Love Potion bit out of the story, that would only make Remus hate Ron even more.

'I thought Ron would never do this again to me. How could he? How could she, above all?' Remus murmured and he really looked devastated.

Harry didn't reply.

'I'll make that boy pay for this. Tell him to avoid me, tell Hermione to avoid me, please. I know they don't deserve this… They can't help what I am. But I will get my revenge. I will get her back, that is a promise. And I don't break promises,' Remus growled.

Harry still couldn't look at his professor. He was scared. He was scared for Ron.

'Go! Tell them! Tell them to avoid me, please!' Remus exclaimed and Harry rushed away, to the dormitory.

Remus returned to his classroom where he dismissed the class. He just wanted to be alone right now.


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello again :) I know it has been a while, but the 23rd chapter is here now :) I don't know when I will post a new chapter, with the December month and all the school work and you know... But I'll do my best! X**

'Ron, please, just leave her alone and stop giving her this potion,' Harry pleaded for the hundredth time.

'You have no proof of anything and Hermione will only tell everyone that she is in love with me. Just stop trying to drive us apart. I know that she loves me, she only doesn't want to admit it, that all. I'm helping her,' Ron said.

'He is going to kill you,' Harry tried, hoping that that would reason Ron.

'No, he isn't,' Ron said.

'How do you know?'

'Well, Hermione loves me right now. If he truly cares for her, then he would let her be with me. He knows that it would break her heart otherwise,' Ron said self-confidently.

'And what are you going to do when he finds out about the potion?'

'He won't.'

'He will, Ron. Sooner or later he will find out.'

'Of course not, he is too upset to even notice.'

'Do you really think that he is stupid? He can smell that potion! And haven't you thought about Hermione? She has no say in this at all! It is her life you are playing with,' Harry said.

'She doesn't mind. Do you hear her complaining?' Ron said.

'You really don't care, do you? I have warned you, Ron. Just stay out of trouble, will you?' Harry said, still worried.

'Of course,' Ron answered and he left the Common Room to go to the Clock Tower with Hermione.

Harry followed Ron with his eyes until he couldn't see him anymore. Harry was worried. He didn't want to have his two best friends in trouble. He went to the Dormitory to get his homework done, it was already getting late. Hopefully Ron wouldn't do something stupid…

* * *

Remus was sitting in his chair. He couldn't stop thinking of Hermione. He wanted to speak to her, to ask her what exactly was going on. It was not like her to just go to Ron after all they have been through, she wouldn't do that. Remus decided to take a walk outside so that he wouldn't have to sit down in the chair all the time. It was getting quite annoying to sit there only with his own thoughts to accompany him.

Once outside, he walked in the direction of the Clock Tower, the cold didn't bother him anymore. Snow was falling down and it made the courtyard very silent. Remus liked that, he always heard too much noise for his liking. Especially in a class full of children. The snow made him feel more relax. That was until he heard a noise. In the Clock Tower. Everyone was supposed to be in their dorms by now, so why would someone be in the tower?

Remus went inside and he felt his muscles thaw. He went up the stairs and then he saw something that made his muscles freeze again. He saw Ron, and with Ron, he saw Hermione. His Hermione. Or maybe Ron's Hermione, that was how it seems right now.

It took everything in Remus power to keep his anger in check. He focused on his breathing, to calm down. The two hadn't seen him yet, they were only paying attention to each other. Remus cleared his throat so that Ron and Hermione saw him.

'Hermione?' Remus asked carefully. To his own pleasure, his voice sounded quite normal.

'I've told you to leave me alone, Remus,' Hermione said harshly.

'I don't believe you meant that,' Remus said, but he was hurt inside.

'You should believe it. It is true and I want you to go away.'

'Don't do this, Hermione, please… Please just talk to me,' Remus pleaded.

'You've heard her, go away!' Ron said sharply.

'Stay out of this you. I've warned you before. Please just let her talk to me. Hermione?' Remus tried again, but Hermione shook her head.

'She doesn't want to talk to you, isn't that obvious? You shouted at her and she doesn't want to see you anymore,' Ron said loudly.

'I know and I am sorry for that. I didn't mean to shout, that was wrong. I just can't give up on her,' Remus said clearly, but his mouth felt dry.

'If you want her to be happy, then leave her alone,' Ron said and he took a step forward so that he formed a human shield for Hermione.

Every second Remus had to look at Ron, he felt his anger growing. He tried his best to stay calm, but it was difficult. That boy was trying to steal his mate and the wolf inside only wanted to tear his throat out. Remus tried to look at Hermione, but he couldn't see her anymore. It was only Ron he could see and that was not a positive thing. Especially not now, the moon was in the sky now, very clearly. It was not a full moon, but nevertheless, it did affect Remus' behavior.

'Let her talk to me now,' Remus repeated calmly.

'No, I won't,' Ron answered.

'You've done something to her, haven't you? She is acting like this because of you,' Remus said.

'Yes, she is in love because of me, is that wrong?' Ron snapped.

'It is, and you know why. Tell me, how did she fall in love exactly?' Remus asked suspiciously. Something was not right about this and he already had the feeling that he knew what was going on.

'She… she just did,' Ron answered straightly.

'I don't think so… Can I see her?' Remus asked softly.

'Just leave us alone.'

'Not until I know what is going on… Please step aside or I will have to force you,' Remus said as gently as he could.

'What are you hoping to see? What do you want to hear from her? I've already told you, we are in love and you can't change that,' Ron snapped.

'Step. Aside.'

Ron took a step back. He saw Remus' eyes change from color. His eyes glistered with amber and Ron knew that that was not good. He stepped aside and Remus took Hermione's shoulder. She tried to get away, but she found that her struggling was useless.

'Leave her alone!' Ron shouted, but he didn't want to attack the man.

'I knew it, it's a Love Potion. You were tricking her into this, she is not herself! How could you?' Remus said, his voice still soft. It made him sound slightly frightening, the amber color didn't leave his eyes for a second.

'It's not… how do you… I would never give that to her!' Ron said.

'You did,' Remus growled.

'No! I would never force myself onto her! Unlike you!' Ron snapped angrily.

That was the last straw. Remus just couldn't take it anymore. Ron had gone too far. With an inhuman speed, Remus pinned Ron up to the wall.

'I had forgiven you. I trusted you. I helped you out of that cage. Why are you doing this?' Remus growled softly.

Ron couldn't make a sound because of the hand around his throat. Remus loosened his grip a little so that Ron could say something.

'I… I didn't, let go of me!' Ron choked out.

'Don't try to mess me around, Weasley! We've been through this before! It wasn't very smart to provoke me, not now. The moon has risen, you know that that's not really the time to anger me,' Remus said softly.

'No… I mean… Yes I do… Please…' Ron said, now slightly terrified.

'You know that I want to protect Hermione. You know that I would do anything for her. You know that a part of me wants to kill you. If I were you, I would run… Very hard. You are lucky that I have to take care of Hermione right now, otherwise…' Remus said with clenched teeth, he didn't release Ron yet, he was still too angry with Ron. How much he tried to let him go, he couldn't find the strength.

'Yes, yes, I'll go, okay? Let me go!' Ron said with his eyes closed.

Before Remus had the chance to release Ron, he felt something jumping on his back. Hermione was trying to help Ron by attacking Remus. He quickly let go of Ron and turned around to grab Hermione so that she couldn't fight him anymore.

'Let me go! Leave Ron alone! Leave us alone, you animal!' Hermione shouted, trying to knock Remus' arms away from her.

Ron was watching the whole scene, not having the intention to leave until Remus told him to leave.

'Go! Leave now!' he shouted and Ron ran away as quick as he could.

'Hermione… Hermione, calm down… I'll help you…' Remus said softly, his amber eyes were turned back to their normal brown color.

'I don't want your help! I don't need it! I want Ron!' Hermione shouted.

'If that's true, then I'll let you go. Tomorrow. You need to sleep for a while,' Remus said and he gently lifted her up. Hermione didn't give up, though.

'Let me go! I don't want this! Let me go or I'll tell everyone about you! You'll get fired! Put me down this instant!' Hermione demanded.

Remus was hurt, but he knew she didn't mean what she was saying. It still hurt. The one he loved was threatening him with telling everyone his secret. She was taking away everything he loved right now. Hogwarts and Hermione herself. He couldn't lose them.

'I'm sorry, Hermione. You'll feel better tomorrow, I promise. Please don't worry,' he whispered, trying to reassure her.

'You are going to kill me! You are going to silence me forever and then you will go after Ron! You can't be trusted!' she cried panicked.

'I would never do such thing! Don't say that!' Remus answered with tears in his eyes. The thought of him killing Hermione made him sick. It was his worst nightmare. The thought of killing anyone made him sick, killing Peter was bad enough already.

'I've seen you killing before! Your own friend! You don't care, you don't have any feeling nor emotions!'

'That's enough, Hermione!' Remus said loudly.

'You can't…' Hermione began again, but Remus didn't want to hear it. He put her down and grabbed his wand.

'_Silencio_,' he mumbled and then he picked up Hermione again. 'I'm sorry…'


End file.
